On World Day Against the Death Penalty, and with thanks to 6 St James Hall Chambers, it is our pleasure to invite you to meet members of Capital Punishment Justice Project (CPJP - formerly Reprieve Australia) and hear an update on the death penalty in 2023 from our colleagues on the ground in key countries across Asia, including Kirsten Han (Singapore) and Dobby Chew (Malaysia). We will also hear from Luke Cook, an Australian who was exonerated in 2021 after being sentenced to death in Thailand in 2018.

CPJP works closely with partners in Asia - where over 90% of the world's executions take place - to support the defence of people facing the death penalty, assist local anti-death penalty civil society organisations, and campaign to convince governments to abolish the death penalty. Australia has identified abolition of the death penalty as one of its human rights priority areas, and we see the work we do as imperative to ensuring that Australia is a leading voice on abolition.

This event will be raising vital funds so that we can continue our work towards abolishing the death penalty. We hope you can join us!

Our guest speakers:

The Hon. Justice Michael Kirby AC CMG (CPJP Patron)

Michael Kirby is an international jurist, educator and former judge. He served as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-83); Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84); Judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-4); President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96); President of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96) and Justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009).

Luke Cook, death row exoneree (attending via video)

Luke Cook is an Australian who was arrested in Thailand in December 2017 and sentenced to death after being convicted of drug-related offences. After almost four years in prison and following a successful appeal which involved strong advocacy by CPJP and members of Parliament, Luke was exonerated of all charges and released in September 2021. In exonerating Luke, the Supreme Court of Thailand found he had been convicted on the basis of unreliable evidence. Luke has returned to Australia, where he lives with his children.

Kirsten Han, Singaporean journalist and activist (attending via video)

Kirsten Han is a journalist and anti-death penalty activist in Singapore. She has run her own newsletter "We, the Citizens" for the last 5 years. She has used it as an independent platform to fearlessly and openly critique the Government of Singapore. She has also worked as an activist, in particular supporting the families of death row inmates in Singapore for over a decade. This work has led her and her colleagues at Transformative Justice Collective to be targeted by the Government and harassed, such as for sitting outside Changi prison with tea-light candles for about 40 minutes the night before an execution.

Kirsten's book The Singapore I Recognise: Essays on home, community and hope is available here.

Dobby Chew, Executive Coordinator, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (attending via video)

Dobby Chew has been actively involved in the abolitionist movement, campaigns and advocacy in Malaysia, where he is currently the Executive Coordinator of ADPAN. Apart from his work on the death penalty in Malaysia, Dobby is also a co-founder of Security Matters, an NGO established in 2020 to provide physical and digital support for human rights defenders, as well as a committee member of Liga Rakyat Demoratik. Dobby is currently pursuing a PhD on the topic of cross-border cultural influences on the death penalty among Mandarin-speaking communities.

Dr Christopher Ward SC (Moderator and CPJP Ambassador)

Dr Christopher Ward SC is a highly experienced and successful commercial advocate before trial courts, appellate courts and arbitral tribunals.

He has a diverse multidisciplinary and international practice as Senior Counsel and works in large commercial disputes and inquiries, international law, large corporate insolvency, employment disputes, all constitutional issues and administrative governmental disputes.