As you read this email 25-year old Melbourne man Van Tuong Nguyen is sitting in a jail cell in Singapore awaiting execution for drug trafficking. Van committed a serious crime. But if you, like us, believe that the death penalty goes against fundamental human values, then please help Van's family in their efforts to stop this execution.
There isn't much time, but there is still a chance that Van's life can be spared. Click on the link below to urge Singapore's Prime Minister to grant Van Tuong Nguyen clemency now:
Please Show Clemency
A few years ago a young Australian made a terrible mistake. In a desperate attempt to pay off his twin brother's debts Van agreed to smuggle drugs from Cambodia to Australia. Van Tuong Nguyen had no criminal record and this was his first trip outside of Australia.
He was caught in Singapore and subsequently convicted. Now, with all legal avenues of appeal exhausted, he could be executed any day.
Drug trafficking cannot be condoned, but neither can the death penalty. The death penalty violates the most basic of human rights - the right to life - and is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment.
On Monday Federal Liberal MP Judi Moylan urged people to take action to help Van Tuong Nguyen: "I think everyone needs to speak out about it and seek clemency from the Singapore Government." Moylan said that "unless we all get behind this campaign there will probably be no chance".
Singapore's constitution gives the Prime Minister the power to grant clemency provided the condemned meet certain criteria --- Van Tuong Nguyen meets all those criteria.
Right now people all around Australia - and some in Singapore - are rallying together to try to save Van's life. Parliamentarians on both sides of politics have spoken out and signed petitions, and John Howard, who opposes the death penalty, has promised to intensify his lobbying efforts.
Please take a few minutes to write to the Prime Minister of Singapore and respectfully urge him to grant Van Tuong Nguyen clemency.
Please Show Clemency
To help amplify this campaign in the Singaporean media, you will also be able to CC your message to the Singapore Straits Times, Singapore's largest daily newspaper. ??You can get more information about Van's case on our blog.
Thanks for being part of this important campaign.
The GetUp Team
PS. The more emails Singapore's PM gets the more chance of some kind of breakthrough, so please forward this email to all your friends who you think might be concerned about Van's plight.
By GetUp! posted 3 November 05
GetUp!
Action for Australia
So you better:Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up!) Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights!) Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight! (don't give it up, don't give it up!) Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up!) Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up!)
Get up, stand up! ( ... ) Don't give up the fight!
(get up, stand up!) Get up, stand up! ( ... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up! Don't give up the fight!
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Here come de Judge - Time to Leave [266]
There have always been examples of rulings and interpretations that have supported the saying "The law is an ass". This is increasingly the case, because even the best intentioned judges are now facing an avalanche of new technologies and social change. But, it is no good making excuses for the judiciary and continuing to accept their strange interpretations. We must recognise that not only judges but the whole legal system will struggle more and more. In the end the whole system will become a farce. This is the way empires end.
