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Technical glitch, mental illness delay executions
Tony Spontana - Tribunews
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Tony Spontana - Tribunews.com
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has decided to briefly postpone the execution of an entire group of 11 convicts on the notorious and remote prison island of Nusakambangan in Central Java due to a lack of infrastructure and a need to confirm reports that one death-row convict is mentally ill.
AGO spokesman Tony Spontana said on Tuesday that Nusakambangan prison-island management had informed the agency that its isolation chamber could not accommodate more than five death-row convicts.
'The prison management will need time to expand the capacity of the isolation chamber. That's why we've delayed the transfer of the death-row convicts to Nusakambangan from this week to probably next week,' said Tony.
'But regardless of the infrastructure problem, the executions will be carried within this month,' he said.
Tony also explained that there was a request from the management that the prisoner transfer to Nusakambangan take place no later than three days prior to the execution date.
The AGO has listed 11 prisoners for the upcoming batch of executions. They include Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Filipina Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, Frenchman Serge Areski Atlaoui, Ghanaian Martin Anderson, Nigerian Raheem Agbaje Salami and four Indonesian convicts ' Syofial alias Iyen bin Azwar, Zainal Abidin, Sargawi alias Ali bin Sanusi and Harun bin Ajis.
Six inmates from Malawi, Brazil, Nigeria, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Indonesia were executed by firing squad last month for their involvement in drug trafficking.
Despite the looming executions, Tony said that the AGO would need more time to clarify the mental state of Gularte, whom the prison management suspected of being mentally ill, although existing laws do not prohibit the AGO from carrying out the execution of a convict confirmed to be suffering from such an illness.
Tony also said that the funds for the execution had already been disbursed, with the cost for the execution of each convict amounting to around Rp 200 million (US$16,000).
Meanwhile, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the government had never seriously considered a threat of repercussions expressed by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in response to the planned execution of their two citizens.
'We've taken into account the suggestions from the Australian government, but we've never included their threats in the equation,' said Kalla.
'We cannot make everyone happy. The law has mandated us to carry out the executions,' he said.
Abbott has warned about the potential for diplomatic fallout while Bishop has suggested that tourists could boycott Indonesia if Jakarta executed the two Australians.
Despite the warning, tourism businesses in Bali remain upbeat that the boycott campaign will not affect the island as a prime destination for visitors from Down Under.
According to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Suryawijaya of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Bali chapter, businesspeople remained optimistic that many Australians would continue to visit the island despite the boycott threat.
'Choosing a vacation destination is an individual right that cannot be controlled by the government. We're sure that most Australian tourists will still consider Bali their favorite destination, even their second home,' Suryawijaya said.
Learning from the fact that Australian visitors had never been deterred by previous travel advisories and warnings issued by their government, he added, tourism businesses on the island were not worried.
Australia has long been Bali's largest source of tourists, with 895,069 Australians visiting the island between January and November last year, an increase of 18.7 percent from 754,049 people recorded in the same period of 2013.
'Our government shouldn't be influenced by the threat and should go ahead with the executions to uphold the rule of law. Drug smuggling is an extraordinary crime that is totally unacceptable,' Suryawijaya noted.
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Wasti Atmodjo contributed to this report.
