Indonesia executes four drug convicts; Gurdip Singh not among them

JAKARTA: Indonesia on Friday executed four drug convicts including three Africans, officials said.
Indian convict Gurdip Singh, who was convicted along with 13 others, was not among them, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Friday.
"Indian Ambassador in Indonesia has informed me that Gurdip Singh whose execution was fixed for last night, has not been executed," Swaraj said on twitter.
However, it was not clear why the Indian was not executed while four other convicts were put to death by the firing squad.
48-year-old Singh was among 10 convicts who were to be executed but were not put to death.
He was found guilty by an Indonesian court of trying to smuggle in 300 grams of heroin and was handed death penalty in 2005.
Two Nigerians, one Senegalese and one Indonesian were executed. Petitions to review their cases had been denied.
India was in touch with the Indonesian leadership to get clemency for Gurdip Singh.
Indian embassy officials in Jakarta were trying to ensure that all legal recourse is exhausted before the death penalty is carried out against Singh.

"Afdhal Muhammad, the legal representative of Gurdip Singh was of the view that he can file for presidential clemency under the relevant law before the President of the Republic of Indonesia," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said in his weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday.
"The embassy sent a note verbale to the ministry of foreign affairs of Indonesia requesting that all legal recourse should be exhausted before the death penalty is carried out," he said.
Singh was arrested on August 29, 2004, at the Soekarno Hatta Airport in Jakarta on charges of drug trafficking, for attempting to carry 300 grams of heroin.
The Tangerang Court awarded him capital punishment in February 2005 against the prosecutors' request for 20 years imprisonment.
Swarup said that Singh's appeal against the death penalty was turned down by the High Court of Banten in May 2005.
Pakistan was also in touch with top officials in Indonesia to halt the imminent execution of Pakistani national Zulfiqar Ali for drug smuggling.