The Sultan of Johor has commuted the death sentences of three Mexican brothers set to hang

Johor Sultan pardons three Mexicans on death row


Saturday, 22 Sep 20189:01 AM MYT


In this May 17, 2012, file photo, Mexican brothers (from left:) Luis Alfonso, Simon and Jose Regino, are seen leaving a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur. - (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, File)



MEXICO CITY (AFP): The Sultan of Johor has commuted the death sentences of three Mexican brothers who were set to be hanged for drug trafficking crimes, Mexico said.

After years of lobbying by Mexican diplomats, Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar commuted the men's death sentences to life in prison, Mexico's foreign ministry said Thursday (Sept 20).


"This was the result of a long process and intense dialogue with Malaysian federal authorities," it said in a statement.

The brothers - Simon, Luis Alfonso and Jose Regino Gonzalez Villarreal - were arrested in a raid on a methamphetamine lab in Johor in March 2008.




But a Malaysian court sentenced them to hang to death in May 2012. The conviction was upheld on appeal the following year.

Mexico, which does not use capital punishment, neither accepted nor rejected the court's guilty verdict, but pushed for the death sentence to be commuted. - AFP

Johor Sultan pardons three Mexicans on death row

NATION

Saturday, 22 Sep 2018

9:01 AM MYT

image: https://www.thestar.com.my/~/media/online/2018/09/22/01/07/pardon-mexicans.ashx/?w=620&h=413&crop=1&hash=1C87B2C33E9FD5B5EDF4552EFFA69ED27C5C4C9A

In this May 17, 2012, file photo, Mexican brothers (from left:) Luis Alfonso, Simon and Jose Regino, are seen leaving a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur. - (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, File)

In this May 17, 2012, file photo, Mexican brothers (from left:) Luis Alfonso, Simon and Jose Regino, are seen leaving a courthouse in Kuala Lumpur. - (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, File)

MEXICO CITY (AFP): The Sultan of Johor has commuted the death sentences of three Mexican brothers who were set to be hanged for drug trafficking crimes, Mexico said.

After years of lobbying by Mexican diplomats, Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar commuted the men's death sentences to life in prison, Mexico's foreign ministry said Thursday (Sept 20).

"This was the result of a long process and intense dialogue with Malaysian federal authorities," it said in a statement.

The brothers - Simon, Luis Alfonso and Jose Regino Gonzalez Villarreal - were arrested in a raid on a methamphetamine lab in Johor in March 2008.

But a Malaysian court sentenced them to hang to death in May 2012. The conviction was upheld on appeal the following year.

Mexico, which does not use capital punishment, neither accepted nor rejected the court's guilty verdict, but pushed for the death sentence to be commuted. - AFP

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/22/malaysia-pardons-three-mexicans-on-death-row/#A38yet7KGCWD8MME.99

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/09/22/malaysia-pardons-three-mexicans-on-death-row/#A38yet7KGCWD8MME.99