54 Indian citizens sentenced to death by foreign courts: Govt tells RS

As per information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, the number of Indian citizens who have been awarded death sentences by foreign courts stands at 54, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha.

The government was asked whether the Centre is taking any measures to save the life of Nimisha Priya who has been sentenced to death by a Yemen court, as also the number of Indian citizens who have been awarded death sentences by the foreign courts.

"As per information available with this Ministry, the number of Indian citizens who have been awarded death sentences by foreign courts is 54," the minister said in his response.

The ministry was asked whether the government takes any "pro-active measures" to save the lives of such citizens; and if so, the details thereof.

"The Government of India accords high priority to the welfare of Indians abroad and provides all possible support to those who fall in distress, including in the instant case of Ms Nimisha Priya. Government is providing all possible assistance in the case," he said.

The ministry was also asked the total number of Indians on death row in Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Singh in his response shared data for these countries, according to which 29 Indians are on death row in the UAE, 12 in Saudi Arabia, three in Kuwait and one in Qatar.

"Indian Missions/Posts abroad provide all possible assistance to Indian citizens who have been sentenced, including death sentences by foreign courts. Indian Missions/Posts provide consular access by visiting the jails and following up their cases with Courts, Jails, Public Prosecutors and other concerned agencies of respective foreign countries. The jailed Indian nationals are also assisted in exploring various legal remedies including the filing of appeal, mercy petition etc.," he said.

In response to another query, the Union minister said as per the information available with the MEA, "the number of Indian prisoners, including under-trials, in foreign prisons at present is 10,152".

Also, as per the information available with the ministry, "the number of Indian under-trials, in foreign prisons at present is 2,684".