Indian convict not executed in Indonesia: Govt

“Indian Ambassador in Indonesia has informed me that Gurdip Singh whose execution was fixed for last night, has not been executed,” Swaraj tweeted. However, it was not clear why he was not executed while four other convicts were put to death by the firing squad. Singh was among 10 convicts who were to be executed but not put to death. He was found guilty by an Indonesian court of trying to smuggle in 300g of heroin and was handed the death penalty in 2005. 

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Thursday said the Indian Embassy officials in Jakarta were reaching out to the Indonesian foreign office and the senior leadership of the country on the issue. Swaraj had said the government was making last minute efforts to save Singh. Deputy Attorney-General Noor Rachmad said one Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed by firing squad not long after midnight local time. 

The government had said earlier in the week that 14 people on death row, mostly foreigners, would be executed on the Nusa Kambangan prison island. Those executed on Friday were Indonesian Freddy Budiman and Nigerians Seck Osmane, Michael Titus and Humphrey Jefferson. 

Relatives, rights groups and foreign governments had urged Indonesia to spare all 14 lives but it was unclear whether that had any influence on the decision to not carry out all the executions at once. Lawyers and rights groups had raised serious doubts about the legitimacy of the conviction of Jefferson as well as the convictions of an Indonesian woman and a Pakistani man.