Antasari's 18-yr sentence to begin early new year

The execution of 18-year sentence of former Corruption Eradication Commission chief and murder convict, Antasari Azhar, will begin shortly after New Year celebrations, on Jan. 3.

Antasari is convicted of murdering businessman Nasruddin Zulkarnaen. The Supreme Court rejected his appeal in September, keeping his 18-years sentence in prison.

“We have ordered the [South Jakarta] District Court to execute the sentence,” Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes Hamzah Tadja said Friday in Jakarta.

The execution of the sentence means Antasari will be moved from his current cell at Jakarta Police detention center, where he has been staying since his trial.
 
Hamzah said Antasari's wife had requested that he was moved to a penitentiary in Tangerang, a Jakarta outskirt.