Singapore executes man for helping buy 2 pounds of cannabis

HONG KONG (AP) — Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence. Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 2.2 pounds of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty. Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning and his family was given the death certificate, according to a tweet from activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty in Singapore.

UK court: Jehovah’s Witnesses not liable for rape by elder

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization isn’t liable for an elder who raped a member of his congregation more than three decades ago. The decision overturned rulings by lower courts that awarded 62,000 pounds ($77,500) for the emotional harm suffered by a Welsh woman who was raped in 1990. Elder Mark Sewell was sentenced to 14 years in prison for raping the woman in his home after the two had been out proselytizing.

Jailed Kremlin foe Navalny says he may face life sentence

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Wednesday that he was facing new extremism and terrorism charges that could keep him behind bars for life, as authorities set the stage for a new trial against the Kremlin’s leading critic. Navalny said by video link from prison during the hearing that the extremism charges which he rejected as “absurd” could land him in prison for 30 years. He noted that an investigator had told him he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that could potentially carry a life sentence, adding on a sardonic note that the charges imply that “I’m conducting terror attacks while sitting in prison.”

Kenya cult death toll rises to 95 as government sets curfew

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The latest death toll in Kenya’s cult investigation has risen to 95 as the government announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the ranch owned by a pastor who is accused of ordering his followers to fast to death. Journalists and human rights activists on Wednesday were barred from accessing the 800-acre ranch, which has been declared a “disturbed area and an operation zone.” Pastor Paul Makenzi, who was arrested for allegedly directing his followers to fast to death in order to meet Jesus, remains in police custody until at least May 2.