A man was declared mentally ill but that did not stop Malaysian courts from sentencing him to death.

These were among the findings by human rights movement Amnesty International, presented in its 2014 report on death sentences and executions worldwide.

The mentally ill man, Nigerian Osariakhi Ernest Obyangbon, was due to be executed on March 14 last year.

Amnesty International said he had not received a fair trial and had been diagnosed as having schizophrenia, for which he had been receiving treatment, before his appeal in 2007.

“His execution was temporarily stayed, after interventions from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, only hours before its scheduled time.”

Obyangbon was sentenced to death for committing murder 18 years ago.

P Chandran was also spared execution in Malaysia on Feb 7, 2014, after an outcry from human rights groups.

He had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death on April l6, 2008.

Both men remain on death row in the Kajang Prison, at risk of execution, since they have exhausted all their legal remedies, Amnesty International said.

According the NGO, two executions were carried out in the country last year but it believes more could have taken place.

No official execution figures

It cited “credible information” on the two executions, but could not give official figures as this are not released by the state.

One of the two, V Alaggandiran (also known as Chellah), was executed in March 2014 for murder. The name of the other prisoner is unknown.

As for death sentences, at least 38 were imposed in 2014, 16 of which were for drug trafficking.

Despite announcing a review of the mandatory death penalty for drug trafficking in 2012, the government has yet to amend the law.

Malaysia rejected recommendations to take steps to abolish the death penalty during the United Nations Human Rights Commission’s Universal Periodic Review in March 2014, although it was recommended to do so in October 2013.

“The Attorney-General’s Chambers informed Amnesty International that the study of the death penalty laws and practices was still ongoing at the end of 2014.”

A total of 22 countries were recorded to have administered the death penalty in 2014, the same number as 2014, Amnesty International said.

“At least 607 executions were carried out worldwide, a decrease of almost 22 percent compared with 2013.”

However, this figure does not include the number of people executed in China, where data on the death penalty is a state secret.

At least 2,466 people are known to have been sentenced to death in 2014, an increase of 28 percent compared with 2013.

A staunch campaigner for the abolition of the death penalty, Amnesty International argues that there is no evidence that the death penalty is a greater deterrent against crime than imprisonment.

“Where governments present the death penalty as a solution to crime or insecurity, they are not only misleading the public but, in many cases, fail to take steps to realise the goal of abolition recognised in international law,” it said.