British man face death penalty with execution by firing squad, You Won’t Believe What He Did
Thomas Parker, a 32-year-old man from the UK, is in serious trouble in Indonesia. He’s been accused of trying to bring the drug MDMA into the country, and if found guilty, he could be sentenced to death by firing squad.
He was arrested earlier this year outside the villa he was staying at in Bali. Police had apparently been watching him ever since he arrived in Indonesia from Thailand. They believe he’s part of a drug smuggling group based in Hungary, and were keeping an eye on his movements.
On January 21, police say a package containing MDMA was delivered to Parker. They claim he tried to get rid of it when it arrived, but they arrested him before he could. The package reportedly had over a kilogram of MDMA inside. In Indonesia, having more than five grams of the drug can be enough to get you the death penalty.
Parker has since spoken out, saying he didn’t know what was in the package when it was delivered to him. He says he didn’t order it and claims it was sent by a friend named “Nicky,” someone he often talked to on the messaging app Telegram. According to Parker, he saw Nicky just days before the arrest and says he wasn’t directly told what was in the delivery.
Still, Parker admitted he suspected the package could contain drugs since he knew Nicky was involved with dealing. At first, he said he didn’t want to accept it, but eventually changed his mind after being told the contents were safe.
He’s currently going through the legal process, and his next court date is set for May 20. If convicted, he could join other foreigners on death row in Indonesia, including British woman Lindsay Sandiford, who has been waiting for over ten years to be executed for trying to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Even though Indonesia has very strict drug laws and harsh punishments, including the death penalty, no one has actually been executed there since 2016. However, many people, including foreigners, remain on death row for drug-related crimes.
