13 July 2004 :

The Indian embassy asked Indonesian authorities to spare the life of Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey, an Indian national who was facing a firing squad for drug trafficking. Chaubey was sentenced to death in 1995 for trying to smuggle 12 kilograms (26.4 pounds) of heroin into Indonesia. He was expected to be the first drug trafficker executed in the country in recent years. K.B. Mathur, in charge of consular affairs, said the embassy had written to the attorney general's office asking it not to execute Chaubey. Mathur did not say why Chaubey, 67, should not be executed. "We're just making a request. Maybe they can reconsider," he told AFP. Attorney General Muhammad Abdurrachman was quoted by Antara news agency as saying the embassy had argued that Chaubey was too old to be put to death. He said the request had no bearing on the planned execution. "The policemen who will carry out the execution are ready to do so. We are only waiting for the D-day," he said.