Jalandhar, Punjab:
Each second that passes by makes Ranjit Kaur a little more nervous.
She has ten days to fight against the death sentence given to her husband and 16 other Indians in Sharjah for killing a Pakistani in January, 2009. A fight over alcohol led to the Pakistani being stabbed. 50 men were originally arrested for the murder.
In Jalandhar, the relatives of the 17 men now on Death Row are meeting each other for the first time. Few introductions can be as tense as this.
Ranji Kaur is from Ferozepur in Punjab. Her two young daughters are at home. "I don't know what to tell my children," she says before she breaks down.
The families have gathered to appeal to the government to fight for their men.
The 17 men arrested are young - most are in their 20s. All of them come from impoverished families in rural Punjab. Families who spent all they'd saved to send their bread-winners to the Middle East, counting on the money that would be sent home.
Veer Kaur is frail. "We are very poor; my younger son is deaf and dumb. I have borrowed money to send him to Sharjah. Now I pray to God," she says quietly.
The Indian government has promised legal help to the men and their families. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said that the Indian consulate in Dubai has been given access to the prisoners. "We have assured them that the Government of India will stand by them if they appeal in higher court," he said.
Ravinder Singh worked as a labourer in the United Arab Emirates last year. He was among the 50 men arrested for the Pakistani's murder - 33 were later released, the other 17 are now on death row. Ravinder claims he was tortured for three months in prison. He says it was his good luck that he got deported after that. "Some of us were released after few months and we were told others would also follow us, but now I came to know that my brother has been sentenced to death."
She has ten days to fight against the death sentence given to her husband and 16 other Indians in Sharjah for killing a Pakistani in January, 2009. A fight over alcohol led to the Pakistani being stabbed. 50 men were originally arrested for the murder.
In Jalandhar, the relatives of the 17 men now on Death Row are meeting each other for the first time. Few introductions can be as tense as this.
Ranji Kaur is from Ferozepur in Punjab. Her two young daughters are at home. "I don't know what to tell my children," she says before she breaks down.
The families have gathered to appeal to the government to fight for their men.
The 17 men arrested are young - most are in their 20s. All of them come from impoverished families in rural Punjab. Families who spent all they'd saved to send their bread-winners to the Middle East, counting on the money that would be sent home.
Veer Kaur is frail. "We are very poor; my younger son is deaf and dumb. I have borrowed money to send him to Sharjah. Now I pray to God," she says quietly.
The Indian government has promised legal help to the men and their families. On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said that the Indian consulate in Dubai has been given access to the prisoners. "We have assured them that the Government of India will stand by them if they appeal in higher court," he said.
Ravinder Singh worked as a labourer in the United Arab Emirates last year. He was among the 50 men arrested for the Pakistani's murder - 33 were later released, the other 17 are now on death row. Ravinder claims he was tortured for three months in prison. He says it was his good luck that he got deported after that. "Some of us were released after few months and we were told others would also follow us, but now I came to know that my brother has been sentenced to death."
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