Gurdip Singh was spared at the last minute in Indonesia on Thursday. They executed four persons, including three foreigners, for drug trafficking crime. Though officials didn’t give a reason for the reprieve but said 10 more prisoners would be executed later.
Big relief flooded Mr Singh’s family in Punjab’s Jalandhar after the 48-year-old spoke to his wife Kulwinder Kaur on the phone and told her that he was hoping to be saved.
He was convicted in 2004 on charges of drug smuggling. Duped by an agent into paying for what he believed was a work visa in New Zealand, he was allegedly abandoned mid-journey in Indonesia.
New Delhi has said that Mr Singh has the right to appeal to the President of Indonesia for clemency. “Our officials have met Gurdip Singh and the embassy has asked the government of Indonesia to look at all legal options,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup yesterday.
President Joko Widodo has safeguarded dramatically ramping up the use of capital sentence, saying that Indonesia is fighting a battle on drugs and traffickers must be heavily punished. In April last year, they hanged a total of 8 persons, including two Australian citizens.
Indian Ambassador in Indonesia has informed me that Gurdip Singh, whose execution was fixed for last night, has not been executed.
