Two more foreigners sentenced to death<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang<\/p>\n
Two more foreigners have been sentenced to death for smuggling
\ndrugs into the country last July.<\/p>\n
Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte and Indian Gurdip Singh, both 32
\nyears old, were found guilty of smuggling drugs into the country
\nin two separate trials on Monday at the Tangerang District Court,
\nlong known for its heavy-handedness in dealing with drug
\ntrafficking cases.<\/p>\n
"There is no mitigating factor that could lead to a reduced
\nsentence," presiding judge Suprapto told Gularte's trial packed
\nby dozens of activists of the National Anti-Narcotics Movement
\n(Granat).<\/p>\n
As soon as Suprapto read out the verdict, Granat activists and
\nother visitors applauded, lending strong support to the decision.<\/p>\n
"We came here to express support for the judges and there
\nshould be no leniency for drug smugglers," Granat Tangerang
\nchairman Benny Panjaitan told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Clad in a white shirt and blue jeans, Gularte, who had told
\nthe court that he had wanted to sell the drugs to Americans in
\nBali and had asked for a lenient sentence, said he would still
\nthink over the verdict.<\/p>\n
Singh, whose verdict was read out after Gularte's trial, said
\nhe would appeal. Prosecutor R. Vidianto, who had sought a 20-year
\nsentence for Singh, said he would appeal.<\/p>\n
Gularte and Singh's verdicts added to a long list of drug
\ndefendants who have been sentenced to death at the district
\ncourt.<\/p>\n
The court has sentenced to death 30 drug smugglers since
\nJanuary 2000, but none of them have been executed as they are
\nstill trying to exhaust all legal means available to seek a
\nremission.<\/p>\n
Gularte was arrested carrying 500 grams of pure heroine worth
\nRp 2.4 billion (US$265,000) in three large surfboard bags on July
\n31 last year, along with two other Brazilians -- Fred Silva
\nMagueta and Emerson Vieira Guimaraes. The two were later freed
\ndue to lack of evidence to implicate them in the smuggling.<\/p>\n
Singh was arrested carrying 300 grams of heroin at the
\nSoekarno-Hatta International Airport last July 29 when he
\nwas about to board a Star Air flight to Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
During the trial, Singh told the court that he had received
\nthe heroin from Zulfikar Ali, a Pakistani, who would soon stand
\ntrial at the same court for a similar crime.<\/p>\n
He claimed that Ali, arrested along with his Indonesian
\ngirlfriend Dinong Pratidina in Ciampea, Bogor, West Java on Nov.
\n22, asked him to give the heroin to a man called Toni, in Malang.
\nToni is still at large.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-more-foreigners-sentenced-to-death-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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