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View all search resultsRI urged to halt imminent executions of 11 people
Rights group Amnesty International (AI) says the Indonesian government must halt the imminent execution of 11 people and scrap plans to put even more people to death this year
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R
ights group Amnesty International (AI) says the Indonesian government must halt the imminent execution of 11 people and scrap plans to put even more people to death this year.
'President Joko [Jokowi] Widodo is apparently trying to show that he is tough on crime, but there is no evidence that the death penalty is more of a deterrent than other forms of punishment. Instead, he should be ensuring that the criminal justice system prevents and detects crime, and ensures fair trials,' AI Asia Pacific director Richard Bennett said in an open letter on Thursday.
AI made the open letter to respond to Attorney General HM Prasetyo's statement that the 11 executions of death row prisoners, which include both foreigners and Indonesian nationals convicted for drug trafficking and murder, would be carried out imminently.
Six convicts were executed on Jan. 19 and the Indonesian government has announced plans to put 14 more to death throughout the year. The executions are following the government's decision to reject all clemency appeals of death row prisoners out of hand.
AI said the clemency rejections had effectively denied the prisoners a meaningful review of their cases, something guaranteed in both international and Indonesian law.
'These killings must stop immediately. By respecting human rights and adopting a more effective approach to crime, President Widodo should demonstrate real leadership,' said Bennett.
At least two prisoners have appeals pending before the Supreme Court and no executions should be carried out while appeals are not finalized, AI points out in the open letter.
At least three prisoners, all foreign nationals, may not have been provided a legal representative who could have assisted in filing appeals, it further says.
AI also highlights the case of Brazilian national Rodrigo Gularte, one prisoner who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, an illness that has deteriorated while on death row.
'International law prohibits the use of the death penalty against those with mental or intellectual disabilities,' it said. (ebf)
