India is using the diplomatic route to seek Presidential pardon for the three Indian nationals on death row in Indonesia and Qatar. India has urged the Governments there that the execution of Indian prisoners should be stayed till all legal recourses are exhausted. The last-minute Government efforts came at a time when one Gurdip Singh is facing execution within next 24 hours for drug peddling.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Wednesday night that Government was making las- minute efforts to save Singh. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said on Thursday the Indian Embassy officials in Jakarta are reaching out to the Indonesian Foreign Office and the senior leadership of the country on the issue.
"Afdhal Muhammad, the legal representative of Singh, was of the view that he can file for Presidential clemency under the relevant law before the President of Indonesia. The Embassy sent a Note Verbal to Indonesia's Foreign Ministry requesting that all legal recourse should be exhausted before the death penalty is carried out," Swarup said.
"Our Embassy Consular officials are camping in Cilacap and have met Gurdip Singh," said Swarup adding the officials are also in constant touch with Singh's wife and brother in India and keeping them informed of the current situation.
Singh is among 14 people who are facing execution after the authorities decided to resume implementing death penalties. The 14 convicts to be executed also include persons from Indonesia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. The 48-year-old man from Punjab was arrested in August 2004 while trying to smuggle in 300 grams of heroin. He was found guilty by the Tangerang Court, which awarded him Capital Punishment in February 2005, against the prosecutors' request for 20 years' imprisonment. His appeal against the death penalty was turned down by the Supreme Court which upheld his death penalty.
Apart from Gurdip Singh, three more Indians are facing death row in Qatar on the charges of murder of an elderly Qatari woman. With the help of the Embassy, these men filed an appeal in higher courts which upheld death penalty for two while commuting death sentence of one.