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Komnas HAM makes renewed calls for Merri Utami's clemency
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to grant clemency for death row convict Merri Utami, whose clemency plea has yet to be responded by the President after more than five years.
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Save Merri Utami – A group of activists ask President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to postpone the execution of death row convict Merri Utami in a peaceful rally on Jl.Pahlawan in Semarang, Central Java, in July 2018. (thejakartapost.com/Suherdjoko)
T
he National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to grant clemency for death row convict Merri Utami, whose clemency plea has yet to be responded by the President after more than five years.
Merri was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court in 2002 after her ex-boyfriend tricked her into carrying 1.1 kilograms of heroin from Nepal to Indonesia. She was spared the execution in 2016 after asking for the President’s pardon that same year.
“We hope that the President could grant clemency [for Merri],” said Komnas HAM Commisioner Choirul Anam last week. “Notes from the penitentiary’s grading system should be sufficient to serve as a basis to make such decision.”
Choirul went on to call for the government to try to find a solution for death row inmates who have waited years for their execution, adding that the government needed to take some policy initiatives while waiting for lawmakers to pass the proposed amendment of the Criminal Code (RKUHP), which puts capital punishment as an alternative sentence.
According to the draft of the Criminal Code bill, only special crimes could be punished by the death penalty. This would be accompanied with a probationary period of 10 years, during which the death sentence could be commuted to a life sentence if the convict showed good behavior.
The bill is currently listed in this year's National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list with the government and the House of Representatives listed as cosponsors.
Komnas HAM’s support for Merri’s cause came after her daughter Devi Christa, who was accompanied by her mother’s legal representative from Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat), went to the Executive Office of the President on Nov. 1 to deliver a letter of support signed by more than 100 civil society organizations supporting Merri’s clemency.
