News•February 5, 2015 11:33 AM ET•12,123 views

Napalm Death singer appeals to Indonesia president

President Joko Widodo wearing Napalm Death t-shirt

Napalm Death frontman Mark "Barney" Greenway has written several open letters to Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, appealing to Widodo to spare the lives of several foreigners, including of a British woman, all sitting on death row for drug-smuggling. Briton Lindsay Sandiford, 57, was sentenced to death by firing squad in 2013 after being caught transporting cocaine. Sandiford claims that she was forced to carry the drugs for the sake of her children, whose safety was being threatened. According to the BBC, Sandiford says she has no legal representation and can not afford a lawyer. The BBC says that Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws (five foreigners were executed last month for drug related crimes) and President Widodo recently stated that he would deny all appeals for those convicted of drug related crimes. Enter Napalm Death vocalist Greenway. It turns out that President Widodo is a heavy metal fan, and a fan of Napalm Death in particular (that's Widodo in a Napalm Death shirt in the photo above). So Greenway was asked to help, and he did what any humanitarian in his position would do: he appealed directly to Widodo. In an open letter to Widodo regarding Sandiford, Greenway wrote:

"Dear Mr Widodo, I am writing to you again to appeal for mercy and restraint, this time regarding the case of Lindsay Sandiford, a prisoner from the UK who it would seem is facing the prospect of imminent execution on the grounds of cocaine trafficking. My request for a considered, humane perspective extends to all prison detainees, but particularly in the case of Lindsay Sandiford it would appear that she was under duress to transport drugs, with her family under threat if she did not comply. Speaking generally, there have been countless miscarriages of justice and excessive punishments throughout history, and when the designated penalty is death I would suggest that someone potentially faced with no option but to bow to such a threat deserves far greater hearing and protection from the gravest of penalties. Currently, Lindsay Sandiford has not seemingly been afforded the legal resources to present her case, so to deal with her case in the cruellest way would be to do so on a partial hearing of the facts at hand and not upon any form of justice as I understand the concept. For the second time, Mr Widodo, I would ask you to raise yourself above the threshold of all those in power that merely pretend to make changes for the better. To my mind, your election platform promises of moves toward a more egalitarian civic structure means protection at all levels - and capital punishment can only take things backwards in that respect. I ask you to please keep these promises at the forefront of your mind and urgently give your attention to Lindsay Sandiford's plight. In peace and hope, as ever Mark 'Barney' Greenway (Napalm Death)