Rodrigo Gularte, the Brazilian who was among the 8 men who
were executed for drug related crimes in Indonesia was unaware of his execution
till the very end.
This is according to his priest, Father Charlie Burrows who
said that Gularte was hearing voices and did not understand that he was to be
shot by firing squad until the end.
BBC reports that Gularte had been diagnosed with paranoid
schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Father Burrows said he had tried to prepare Gularte for his
execution but that the Brazilian had not realised what was happening to him
until his final moments.
Speaking with BBC Radio 4's PM programme, Father Burrows
said "With him, these voices were very real, he said 'No, I'm not going to
be exec
uted, I'm going to Brazil in a year's time."
He said further:
"I thought he knew what was happening, but when they
took him from the cells and the wardens handed him over to police, he turned to
me and said 'Father, am I going to be executed?'"
According to a Brazilian diplomat who met with him before
his execution, one of Gularte's last requests was that he be buried in Brazil
so that "if he was resuscitated" he would be close to his family. He
added that this was further evidence of Gularte's poor mental health.
A cousin who visited him regularly in prison said that
Gularte was delusional, adding that his favourite topics were "his past
lives in Egypt and other surreal stories that never happened".
She also said that he claimed that the water and food at the
prison were contaminated and was constantly seen talking to walls and ghosts.
42-year old Gularte was arrested in 2004 for trying to
smuggle cocaine into Indonesia hidden in surfing gear.
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