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View all search resultsScandals prompt retraining of more than 1,000 prison guards at Nusakambangan
The decision to launch the retraining initiative comes amid heightened scrutiny of Indonesia’s correctional system, after it was revealed that actor Ammar Zoni, currently serving a four-year sentence at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta for narcotics related charges, was allegedly involved in drug trafficking inside the facility, along with five other inmates.
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Two guards at a high-security prison on Nusakambangan Island in Cilacap, Central Java, are seen in this file photo. (JP/Agus Maryono)
M
ore than 1,000 prison guards are undergoing retraining at the maximum-security prisons on Nusakambangan Island, following a string of scandals involving criminal activities orchestrated from behind bars, a senior minister has said.
Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the retraining program was intended to reinforce discipline among correctional officers and improve their oversight of inmates, particularly to curb the widespread circulation of narcotics within penitentiaries across the country.
“The most serious problem in our correctional facilities is drug trafficking. It’s a major issue,” he said as quoted by Kompas.com.
Nusakambangan is a remote island off the southern coast of Cilacap regency, Central Java, and is known as the country's most secure prison island. Often called “Indonesia’s Alcatraz,” it houses several maximum-security prisons that detain drug lords, terrorists and high-profile criminals. Built by the Dutch in 1908, the island now has 11 prisons with a total capacity of around 3,000 inmates.
The decision to launch the retraining initiative comes amid heightened scrutiny of Indonesia’s correctional system, after it was revealed that actor Ammar Zoni, who was serving a four-year sentence at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta for narcotics-related charges, was allegedly involved in drug trafficking inside the facility, along with five other inmates.
During a raid in January, authorities discovered marijuana and methamphetamine in Ammar’s possession. He is believed to have obtained the drugs from a friend who visited him in prison, underscoring serious security and oversight lapses at the facility.
The Central Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office is currently handling the case. Ammar and the other suspects have since been transferred to Nusakambangan, where they will remain in custody pending trial.
