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Jakarta Post

Who deserves clemency?

In the end, deciding whether a convict sentenced to death should live remains the prerogative of the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

The Jakarta Post
Mon, November 19, 2012

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Who deserves clemency?

I

n the end, deciding whether a convict sentenced to death should live remains the prerogative of the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono has been in the spotlight for his questionable commutations of death sentences given to several criminals convicted of narcotics offenses. His officials have failed to present a convincing justification for the clemency given to the convicts.

In the latest case, Constitutional Court chief justice Mahfud MD questioned the President’s decision to commute the death sentence of Meirika “Ola” Franola to life imprisonment. Mahfud noted that the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) said that Ola was a repeat offender who had continued to deal drugs from behind bars.

Twenty-three convicts currently on death row are seeking clemency from the President. It is their final chance, after the Supreme Court rejected their appeals.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana recently said that the President has granted 19 of the 126 clemency pleas that he has received since taking office in 2004. Among those whose sentences were commuted were minors and the blind.

However, a presidential grant of clemency in a death sentence case is a relative rarity. Convicts typically await execution endlessly on death row.

The debate grew more heated after Yudhoyono commuted the death sentence of Deni Setia Maharwan, Meirika’s accomplice, to life imprisonment.

Deni was arrested for possession of 3.5 kilograms of heroin and 3 kilograms of cocaine in 2000. Tangerang District Court sentenced him to death in 2001. His appeal was rejected and he filed a clemency request with the President in 2010, which was accepted in 2012.

The sentences of two other death row convicts — Rani, aka Melisa; and Nepali national Indra Bahadur Tamal — have also been commuted to life in prison.

In another high-profile drug case that did not involve capital punishment, Yudhoyono granted clemency to convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, shaving five years off her 20-year prison sentence.

Indrayana said that the commutation of death sentences in narcotics cases had been done in the hope of gaining reciprocal treatment for Indonesians sentenced to death in foreign countries.

“This decision was made to protect our citizens abroad. The President has the obligation to free Indonesians from the death penalty.”

“We’re aware that Indonesia still applies capital punishment. How is it possible for us to ask [for clemency] if we don’t want to grant it?” Denny said during a recent discussion in Jakarta.

Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa previously said that 298 Indonesians are currently incarcerated on death row overseas, including 136 Indonesians, or 45 percent of the total, who were convicted of narcotics crimes; 72 Indonesians (24 percent) who were convicted of murder; and 90 convicts (30 percent) sentenced to death for other capital offenses.

One Indonesian languishing on death row overseas is Ilham Saputra, 32, who was sentenced to die for drug smuggling by the Malaysian high court in 2011.

“The policy of commuting a death sentence for a narcotics crime is not something that only happens in Indonesia,” Marty said. Indonesians sentenced to death overseas have also benefitted from the practice, according to the foreign minister.

Across the globe, 96 countries have scrapped the death penalty. Indonesia is one of 58 countries that still executes criminals, along with the US, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Iraq and Singapore, among other nations.

Indrayana said that the government might agree to amend the Criminal Code to commute the sentences for convicts currently incarcerated on death row, which would cover those convicted of premeditated murder.

However, several other laws would have to be revised to eliminate capital punishment, including Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism, Law No. 5/1997 on narcotics, Emergency Law No. 12/1951 on weapons possession and Law No. 31/1999 on Corruption.

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