Jakarta. Executing people for drug-related crimes is not a violation of human rights, the chief of National Narcotics Agency (BNN) said on Tuesday at a discussion on the matter.
Admitting that the measure continues to be controversial, Comr. Gen. Anang Iskandar said that as long as the punishment was based on a court order, “there is nothing wrong about sentencing a drug convict to death,” Tempo.co reported.
Tedjo Edhy Purdjianto, the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, explained that many people simply do not understand the reasons why someone is sentenced to death.
The minister added that drug convicts, especially drug lords, put people’s lives in danger.
“We should get this straight,” Tedjo said. “Because of the drug lords, forty drug addicts die every day.”
Andreas Harsono from Human Rights Watch however urged the government to eliminate the death penalty, calling it a cruel and pointless measure.
“The current government should understand that the death penalty is very barbaric and does not reduce crime,” Andreas said.
Capital punishment is a sentencing option for Indonesian judges on several convictions, including drug trafficking, murder, sedition and terrorism.
Indonesia resumed executing prisoners last year, under the administration of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The decision of the current president, Joko Widodo, to continue the legacy has sparked wide condemnations from local and international nongovernmental organizations, which have long pushed the country to end capital punishment.
