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| Singapore executes drug smugglers | Singapore executes drug smugglers |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Singapore has executed two African men for drug smuggling after rejecting appeals for clemency by Nigeria's president, the UN and rights groups. | Singapore has executed two African men for drug smuggling after rejecting appeals for clemency by Nigeria's president, the UN and rights groups. |
| Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, 21, of Nigeria, and 35-year-old Okeke Nelson Malachy, a stateless African, were hanged at dawn. | Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi, 21, of Nigeria, and 35-year-old Okeke Nelson Malachy, a stateless African, were hanged at dawn. |
| A small group of activists held an overnight vigil outside the prison. | A small group of activists held an overnight vigil outside the prison. |
| Singapore has some of the strictest drugs laws in the world and a long history of ignoring pleas for clemency from foreign governments. | Singapore has some of the strictest drugs laws in the world and a long history of ignoring pleas for clemency from foreign governments. |
| Tochi was arrested at the airport in Singapore in 2004, carrying almost a million dollars worth of heroin. | Tochi was arrested at the airport in Singapore in 2004, carrying almost a million dollars worth of heroin. |
| Malachy was convicted as the intended recipient of the drugs. | Malachy was convicted as the intended recipient of the drugs. |
| 'Duty' | 'Duty' |
| Both men were hanged at around 0600 (200GMT) at Changi Prison, officials said. | Both men were hanged at around 0600 (200GMT) at Changi Prison, officials said. |
| About 10 activists held an overnight vigil outside the prison compound, hanging a football shirt on the wall as a mark of Tochi's love of the game. | About 10 activists held an overnight vigil outside the prison compound, hanging a football shirt on the wall as a mark of Tochi's love of the game. |
| He maintained he had gone to Singapore to take part in a football tournament. | |
| On the eve of their execution, the Singapore government released a letter Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had sent to Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo. | |
| "Mr Tochi's family will find Singapore's position difficult to accept, but we have a duty to safeguard the interests of Singaporeans, and protect the many lives that would otherwise be ruined by the drug syndicates," he wrote. | "Mr Tochi's family will find Singapore's position difficult to accept, but we have a duty to safeguard the interests of Singaporeans, and protect the many lives that would otherwise be ruined by the drug syndicates," he wrote. |
| Mr Obasanjo, along with the UN and human rights groups, had appealed for restraint. | Mr Obasanjo, along with the UN and human rights groups, had appealed for restraint. |
| Singapore is believed to have one of the world's highest rates of execution per capita, the BBC's Andrew Harding reports from the tiny city state. | Singapore is believed to have one of the world's highest rates of execution per capita, the BBC's Andrew Harding reports from the tiny city state. |
| Just over a year ago, the Australian government angrily condemned the hanging of one of its citizens convicted on drug trafficking charges. | Just over a year ago, the Australian government angrily condemned the hanging of one of its citizens convicted on drug trafficking charges. |