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All legal rights of death convicts fulfilled: Official
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Military and police personnel guard Wijaya Pura Dock, the gateway to Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, on Thursday. (JP/Agus Maryono)
I
ndonesia has reiterated its insistence that the death penalty is an acceptable punishment under international law and a necessary method to address the intensifying drug crisis across the nation, an official has said.
"I need to emphasize here that all the legal rights and legal procedures related to the death-row convicts have been fulfilled," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir announced on Thursday.
Arrmanatha was addressing reporters' questions related to the concerns of foreign governments and institutions on the imminent executions, expected to be carried out within hours.
(Read also : EU calls on Indonesia to halt all executions)
The spokesman reiterated that the death penalty did not violate international law. In Indonesia, Arrmanatha continued, capital punishment did not violate the right to life in the context of the 1945 Constitution.
The death penalty is applied only to traffickers, who are considered responsible for the proliferated spread of illicit drugs in the country, while abusers are given rehabilitation, said Arrmanatha, adding that Indonesia had rapidly turned from being a transit country to a destination country and a main market in the Asian region.
"As Indonesia always respects applicable laws in other countries, we also hope that every country will respect laws that are applicable in Indonesia," Arrmanatha said.
Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Wednesday that 14 people, most of whom are foreigners, including convicts from Nigeria, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe, had been put in isolation on Nusakambangan prison island off Cilacap, Central Java, and would be executed this week. (bbn)
