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Govt seeks 'win-win solution' on death penalty
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Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly appears at the Corruption Eradication Commission's (KPK) headquarters in this July 3 file photo. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
T
he government is to retain the death penalty, but intends to seek a "middle way" to accommodate those critics who opposed capital punishment as a violation of human rights, Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly said on Tuesday.
"There are two opposing views on the death penalty, agreeing [and] disagreeing [...] We're seeking a win-win solution," Yasonna said at the House of Representatives on Tuesday. He added that an alternative sentencing scheme was under consideration, including legal provisions to review a death sentence.
For example, a death sentence could be commuted into life imprisonment, "if death-row convicts have spent ten years in prison and have shown good behavior," the minister said.
Read also: Rights groups zero in on migrant workers' plight in Geneva
Yasonna insisted the death penalty was still necessary and maintained that providing such "alternative" sentencing schemes was a "win-win solution".
Monday marked the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty. Indonesia is one country that still applies death sentence, particularly for drug-related crimes.
Indonesia executed 14 drug convicts in 2015 and four in 2016. This year, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to execute 134 death row convicts, according to the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR).
Read also: Jokowi maintains merciless stance on drug dealers
The UN has called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty and adopt the 75 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recommendations that were issued during May's Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The government has rejected the call from the world body. (foy/bbs)
