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Jakarta Post

Drug dealer clemency ‘a setback’

In what may be seen as a major reversal from previously stated positions on the nation’s fight against drugs, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has used back channels to commute a drug convict’s death sentence

Margareth S. Aritonang and Bagus BT Saragih (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, October 13, 2012

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Drug dealer clemency  ‘a setback’

I

n what may be seen as a major reversal from previously stated positions on the nation’s fight against drugs, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has used back channels to commute a drug convict’s death sentence.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha confirmed on Friday that Yudhoyono had reduced the sentence of Deni Setia Maharwan, a drug convict, commuting his death sentence to life in prison.

“It’s true that the President has granted clemency. He made the decision after thoroughly discussing it with the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Ministry and the Law and Human Rights Ministry,” Julian said.

In what some describe as a set-back in the country’s antidrug campaign, the President’s move contradicts strong pledges he made in 2006, two years after he took office.

In a ceremony to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in July 2006, Yudhoyono firmly stated he would not grant clemency to those sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

“Those involved in the narcotics trade do not deserve leniency.”

“A lot of requests for clemency in drug-related crimes have been submitted to me, but I personally feel that I would prefer to ensure the safety of our younger generations rather than granting pardons to those who are destroying our nation’s future,” the President said.

According to Julian, the President decided to approve the sentence reduction after learning that the convict had admitted his wrongdoing and apologized for his crime.

Deni, also known as Rapi Mohammed Majid, was apprehended at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta in 2000 for trying to smuggle 3 kilograms of cocaine and 3.5 kilograms of heroin out of the country. The Tangerang District Court convicted him on drug trafficking charges and sentenced him to death on Aug. 22, 2000.

“The President is highly concerned about the convict’s rights. Therefore he granted the clemency. We must remember that the convict will still suffer a severe punishment although his sentence has been reduced from the death penalty to a life sentence,” he said.

The State Palace’s confirmation ends previous speculation that Deni’s clemency came from the Supreme Court.

As previously reported by online media, an official from the Supreme Court was quoted as saying that the sentence reduction was issued by the Supreme Court based on clemency from the President.

Separately, Supreme Court spokesperson Djoko Sarwoko told reporters on Friday that Deni had filed a case review in 2002, but his appeal was rejected the following year due to a lack of legal standing.

Djoko added that Deni also applied for clemency on April 26, 2011, which the court rejected in October of the same year.

“The President issued a presidential decree, signed on Jan. 25, 2012, to grant clemency to Deni, reducing the death sentence to life in prison. So, to be clear, it’s not us annulling a case review [filed by the convict],” Djoko said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Deni is the seventh death row drug convict to have received a commuted sentence in Indonesia. Hanky Gunawan; Nigerian national, Hillary K. Chimezie; Australian, Matthew James Norman; Vietnamese-Australian, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen; and Chinese national, Si Yi Chen have also received sentence reductions.

According to Djoko, Yudhoyono also commuted the death sentence of Deni’s accomplice in the crime, Meirika Franola, on Sept. 26, 2011.

Yudi Suryadi Pramana from the National Anti-Narcotics Movement denounced Yudhoyono for being inconsistent in his commitment to fight narcotics distribution.

“I suspect that high officials or other important figures were involved in the decision. It’s not enough for the President to grant clemency based on humanitarian considerations,” Yudi said.

Yudi added that Yudhoyono had delivered a misleading message to other drug convicts and other individuals involved in similar crimes.

“Those who commit such crimes will underestimate the law. They will easily escape punishment through clemency while they deserve death sentences for destroying the next generation,” he said.

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