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Capital punishment on rise in Indonesia: Amnesty
Indonesia recorded an increase in the number of death sentences last year, mostly for drug offenders.
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Don’t do it: Human rights activists stage a rally in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, in 2018 to commemorate World Day against the Death Penalty. (The Jakarta Post/Vellen Augustine)
Indonesia recorded an increase in the number of death sentences last year, mostly for drug offenders, and with the COVID-19 pandemic prompting many trials to be held online, due process of law is at risk, according to Amnesty International.
One hundred seventeen new death sentences were meted out by Indonesian judges last year, a 46 percent increase from 80 of such sentences in 2019, an Amnesty International report published on Wednesday said. More than 85 percent of last year’s death sentences were given for drug-related offenses, while the rest were for murder.
The 2020 figure represents the highest number of death sentences in Indonesia since 2016 and stands in contrast to a 36 percent decline in death sentences worldwide last year, the report shows.
Amnesty International Indonesia researcher Ari Pramuditya said the increase in death sentences and the large share of drug crimes could be attributed to the government’s tough stance on drugs. In some cases, he said, judges were citing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s “war on drugs” narrative as considerations in sentencing drug offenders to death.
