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EU calls on Indonesia to halt all executions
The EU has called on the Indonesian government to halt all executions and to consider joining a large community of more than 140 states that have abolished the death penalty entirely or have adopted a moratorium.
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All ready – A number of police officers proceed to the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, on Tuesday, ahead of the third round of executions of several inmates, which reportedly will take place soon. (thejakartapost.com/Agus Maryono)
The EU has called on the Indonesian government to halt all executions and to consider joining a large community of more than 140 states that have abolished the death penalty entirely or have adopted a moratorium.
The EU made the statement in a response to the planned executions of up to 14 convicts in Indonesia.
“The EU is opposed to capital punishment without exception and has consistently called for its universal abolition,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
“The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent and represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.”
Also on Thursday, the US-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it opposed the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty. “Indonesia’s use of the death penalty is contrary to international human rights law, statements of UN human rights experts and various UN bodies,” it said.
Citing Law and Human Rights Ministry data, HRW revealed 133 people were on death row in Indonesia as of January 2015. They included 57 who were convicted of drug trafficking, two for terrorist offenses and the remaining 74 for murder or robbery.
HRW says human rights law upholds every human being’s “inherent right to life” and limits the death penalty to “the most serious crimes,” typically crimes resulting in death or serious bodily harm.
“Indonesia should join the many countries already committed to the UN General Assembly’s Dec.18, 2007 resolution calling for a moratorium on executions, a move by UN member countries toward abolition of the death penalty.” (ebf)
