10,152 Indians languishing in foreign jails, highest in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is among the foreign countries where the highest number of Indians are languishing in jails at present. They are either undertrail or convicted in the crimes.

The total number of Indians in foreign jails is 10,152, including 2,633 in Saudi Arabia, 1,317 in Nepal. The information was tabled by Minister of State (MoS) External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in Rajya Sabha today.

The number of Indians undertrial and convicted in other countries at present include: Pakistan 266, Qatar 611, UK 288, US 169, China 173, Bahrain 181, Italy 168, Kuwait 387, Malaysia 338 and Sri Lanka 98.

In the last five years (2020-2024), the countries where Indian citizens have been executed or given capital punishment include: Kuwait with 26 cases, followed by Saudi Arabia 9, Zimbabwe 7, Malaysia 5 and Jamaica 1.

Besides, the country where maximum Indian nationals have been awarded death sentences is UAE at 25. Recently, Indian national Shehzadi from Uttar Pradesh was hanged to death for the murder of a baby. The deaths awarded to Indians in foreign countries include Saudi Arabia 11, Malaysia 6 and Kuwait 3. While in Indonesia, Qatar, US and Yemen, at least one Indian has been awarded death sentence. In all these cases the judgment is yet to be implemented.

The government has maintained that due to strong privacy laws prevailing in many countries, the local authorities do not share information on prisoners unless the person concerned consents to the disclosure of such information. Even countries which share information do not generally provide much details about the foreign nationals imprisoned, it said.

The government said it attaches high priority to the safety, security and wellbeing of Indian nationals in foreign countries, including those in foreign jails.