A justice reform watchdog has urged the government to publicly reveal information about stays of execution for death row convicts.

The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) regretted the government’s decision to execute four drug convicts on Nusakambangan prison island in the early hours of Friday. A firing squad killed Indonesian Freddy Budiman, Seck Osmane from Senegal and Nigerians Michael Titus and Humphrey Ejike, despite international and local pleas to halt the executions.

Three of the convicts — Freddy, Ejike and Osmane — had requested pardons from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, ICJR executive director Supriyadi W. Eddyono said on Friday, lambasting the executions. The 2010 Clemency Law stipulates that the death penalty cannot be carried out before a convict receives a presidential decree declining clemency.

The government used reasons of confidentiality to protect information on whether the President granted or declined the convicts’ requests.

“We already filed a lawsuit against the State Secretariat with the Central Information Commission [KIP] on the openness of information. We won, but the State Secretariat appealed to the State Administrative Court,” he told thejakartapost.com.

The Attorney General’s Office announced on Friday that the executed convicts had judicial reviews of their cases rejected twice by the Supreme Court, which made their sentences final and binding.

It was a different situation for 10 other drug convicts who were initially listed for execution but still had ongoing legal processes. The four executed convicts were major drug traffickers, which lead to the decision to execute them by firing squad on the notorious high-security prison island. (rin) 

Popular

Is Indonesia really ready to embrace dual citizenship?

Tens of thousands seek better lives in Jakarta. But is the city losing its draw?

Elon Musk's Starlink granted licences to operate in Indonesia