The execution of a Pakistani man in Indonesia on Sunday, carried out in secret, is a shocking and regressive step, said Amnesty International.
According to media reports, Muhammad Abdul Hafeez, 44, was executed by firing squad in the early hours of Sunday morning. Hafeez is the fifth person to be put to death this year since Indonesia resumed executions in March after a four year hiatus. A further five individuals are believed to be at imminent risk of execution.
"This latest death by firing squad highlights the deplorable and retrograde trend in Indonesia to shroud executions in secrecy. The complete lack of transparency is not only devastating for the individuals and their families; it can also prevent last minute appeals for a stay of execution," said Papang Hidayat, Indonesia Researcher at Amnesty International.
"Such actions fly in the face of the Indonesian government’s commitment to uphold human rights. We urge the authorities not to carry out any other death sentences. Anymore executions would also further undermine the government's efforts to protect Indonesian nationals that face the death penalty overseas."
"With these clandestine executions it appears the government is also trying to prevent a full and informed public debate on the use of the death penalty," said Papang Hidayat.
Background
Muhammad Abdul Hafeez was arrested at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on 26 June 2001 for allegedly smuggling 900 grams of heroin into Indonesia. He was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court on 28 November 2001.
The use of the death penalty for drug-related offences does not meet the threshold of the "most serious crimes" as prescribed under international law.
Amnesty International is not aware that the families or representatives of the five individuals executed this year were informed in advance.
There are at least 130 people under sentence of death in Indonesia. Around half of those on death row, many of whom are foreign nationals, have been convicted of drug-related offences. So far in 2013 at least eight people have been sentenced to death. At least 12 people were sentenced to death in 2012.
Death sentences in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad. The prisoner has the choice of standing or sitting, and can decide whether to have their eyes covered by a blindfold or hood. Firing squads are made up of 12 people, three of whose rifles are loaded with live ammunition, while the other nine are loaded with blanks. The squad fires from a distance of between five and 10 metres.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception.
Source: Amnesty International, November 18, 2013
Indonesia Executes Pakistani Drug Trafficker
A Pakistani drug trafficker was executed by firing squad at a South Tangerang cemetery early Sunday morning in the fifth death sentence carried out by Indonesian authorities since the government announced a renewed push to execute those convicted of capital offenses.
Muhammad Abdul Hafeez, 44, was executed by members of the National Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) at 12:17 a.m. Sunday, Setia Untung Arimuladi, spokesman for legal affairs at the Attorney General’s Office, said. Hafeez was sentenced to death in a 2001 drug charge for attempting to smuggle more than one kilogram of heroin into Indonesia from Peshwar, Pakistan.
Several attempts by Hafeez to appeal the verdict were denied, Setia said.
“The convict made use of his right to demand clemency and a demand for a case review,” he said. “Both were not granted.”
A religious official and team of doctors were on-location for the execution, Setia said.
Indonesia carried out its first execution in four years in March, killing a Malawian national convicted of drug trafficking. In the months that followed four others were killed by firing squad. The AGO plans to execute 12 people this year, a move that prompted criticism from human rights activists and ran counter to statements made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressing a want to soften some of the nation’s harsh laws.
Yudhoyono said Indonesia’s commitment to capital punishment had put the country at odds with a global push to abolish the death penalty during a conversation with reporters in November of last year. The country has successfully saved more than 100 Indonesian nationals from death row abroad, but it routinely sentences citizens and foreign nationals to death in domestic courts. Last year 113 people were sentenced to death, most for drug offenses or homicide.
The nation’s appeals process and requests for clemency made by death row inmates often makes capital punishment a distant threat for many convicts. But for twelve inmates identified by the AGO, all legal options had been exhausted. Adami Wilson, the Malawian drug trafficker, was executed in March. Three men convicted of murder, Swabhuana, Jurit and Ibrahim, were all executed in May.
Additional executions will be scheduled as the legal process concludes on other death row inmates, Setia said.
“Concerning those on death row for drug offenses who have not yet been executed, it is because, among other reasons, there are convicts who are still seeking legal recourse, such as appeals to demand a case review,” he said.
Hafeez was the only drug trafficker scheduled for execution this month, Mahfud Manan, deputy attorney general for general crimes, said last week without providing further details.
Human Rights Watch called for a moratorium on executions to bring the country in line with United Nations recommendations on the abolition of capital punishment. Indonesia issued a four-year moratorium in 2008 following the execution of Bali bombers Amrozi and Ali Ghufron that was only recently repealed.
“We demand the government not to continue with its plan to execute the others defendants,” said Andreas Harsono, Indonesia researcher with HRW. “[In front of] the United Nations, Indonesia admitted to being a democracy-based country that respects humans rights. If [executions] are still being conducted then the government’s words are just nonsense.”
Death-row inmates are killed by firing squad in Indonesia. They are typically informed of their impending death 72 hours before the execution and shot under the cover of darkness in a remote location.
Source: The Jakarta Globe, November 18, 2013