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Pasir Putih Prison, on Nusakambangan Island,
Central Java, Indonesia, where the 3 Bali bombers
were executed by firing squad on Nov. 9, 2008. |
Attorney General HM Prasetyo says Nusakambangan Island in Cilacap, Central Java, is a secure facility where convicts on death row can be executed, and hinted the island would be used for the execution of 5 inmates this year.
Prasetyo gave the indications during his visit to the prison island on Friday with Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly.
"We're looking for a secure place and Nusakambangan seems to be secure," Prasetyo said on the sidelines of the visit on Friday.
The attorney general previously announced that 5 people on death row would be executed by the end of this year.
Of the 5, 1 was in Tangerang, 2 were in Batam in Riau Islands and the rest were in Nusakambangan.
Prasetyo said that although the decision on the execution was already there, his office needed to coordinate with different parties, including the police, with regard to the time, place and technical matter of the execution.
Yasonna, who had arrived in Nusakambangan a day earlier and had also visited a number of penitentiaries on the island, said the executions of the 5 people on death row were just a matter of time.
"We're coordinating with the attorney general for the executions with regard to the time and place. The decision on the executions has already been made," Yasonna said on Thursday.
During a public lecture at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he planned to enforce the death penalty for the drug convicts and said the crime had a devastating impact on the country's youth.
Nusakambangan is a prison island for high profile inmates. It is located off Penyu Bay, Cilacap, some 2-kilometers from the mainland.
The island can be accessed via a number of points, including the Wijaya Pura pier used by employees of the prisons on the island to enter and exit, Teluk Penyu beach and Kampung Laut village. Only Wijaya Pura pier is guarded.
Yasonna expressed his concern for security measures on the prison island, which he considered were too lax.
"I ask the prison management teams to coordinate with different parties here to keep Nusakambangan secure as a prison island," he said.
Nusakambangan accommodates about 1,500 high profile inmates serving over 5 year sentences, including terror convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is serving 15 years in the prison.
Ba'asyir recently openly expressed his support for the Islamic State (IS) organization and he has been visited by 7 people from West Java who are believed to be IS supporters.
Among the inmates in the prison island, some 50 prisoners are on death row.
Convicts executed on Nusakambangan include the 3 Bali bombers of Amrozi, Ali Gufron (Mukhlas) and Imam Samudra, who faced a firing squad on Nov. 9, 2008.
Source: Jakarta Post, December 13, 2014
Issue of the day: Jokowi to ban clemency for drug convicts
President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is upholding his plan to enforce the death penalty for drug convicts, citing the crime's devastating impact on the country's young generations. During a public lecture at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta on Tuesday, Jokowi emphasized that the government would not be merciful in dealing with narcotics-related crime in the country.
He said that he would reject requests for clemency for 64 drug traffickers who are currently on death row. "[The clemency requests] are not on my table yet. But I guarantee that there will be no clemency for convicts who committed narcotics-related crimes," Jokowi told his audience. Jokowi explained that such a firm and harsh approach was necessary to combat the widespread use of narcotics.
Your comments:
Cigarettes cause 10,000s deaths in Indonesia every year. Will this dangerous drug be banned? Of course not, they are welcome to advertise to kids too.
-- JLC
National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) commissioner Roichatul Aswidah should realize that a supplier is able to distribute drugs to thousands of users, most of whom are youngsters.
Drugs exist not only in prisons but also in schools, including boarding schools.
-- Resi Adiyasa
Concentrate on the sellers, distributors, manufacturers inside the country. Catch them and wind up their operations. That would be a good start!
Drug dealers, smugglers, street-sellers etc. all had the choice - deal drugs, or find an honest job. They've only got themselves to blame. Good decision Jokowi! Keep up the good work!
-- Terry McAsee
Oplosan (bootleg alcohol) is also a drug that kills many Indonesians, Mr. President. Corruption has also a very devastating impact on the country's well-being.
The Indonesian government thinks the country will be drug free in 2015-keep on dreaming! There's no country in the whole world that can achieve that, even if they hang all drug perpetrators.
-- Azwar Barena
When we convict prison bosses and police chiefs whose staff distribute drugs and give them a serious sentence, we will believe that the war on drugs has started. Till then, we are just pretending.
-- Deedee S.
Human rights activists, just because Jokowi didn't do what you told him, it doesn't mean that he wasn't listening!
-- Fussion B.
I too support tough punishment coupled with national educational efforts.
The consequences of breaking the law should be the same for both nationals and non-citizens, with one condition - there is adequate notice and information for travelers. One critical weak link in the fight against illegal drug use is the generally easy complicity and participation of law enforcement personnel for the right price.
-- Jamse Waworoendeng
Source: Letters to the Editor, Jakarta Post, December 13, 2014
Never Could Say Good-Bye
Joko Widodo Warns Death Row Narcotic Offender to Expect No Mercy from the Office of the President
Further clarifying his no-nonsense stand on narcotics and lack of mercy for those in prison and awaiting execution for drug offenses, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has declared that the Nation is “in a state of emergency over drug” and is of no mind to pardon drug convicts sitting on death row.
Quoted by the State News Agency Antara, President Widodo, speaking at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said, "Nearly 40-50 Indonesians die every day due to drug consumption.” The President said an estimated 4.5 million people in Indonesia are addicted to drugs with at least 1.2 million beyond treatment due to their state of health.
In the same speech, President Widodo confirmed that he has 64 applications for clemency on his desk from convicts on death row who have exhausted the legal appeal process.
Included in this total, are a number of foreign national, including at least three in Bali – Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran from the “Bali Nine,” and British Grandmother Lindsay Sandforth (sic).
Removing any hope that foreigners might be treated differently in the macabre parading of people before the firing squad, the President said, "I do not pardon any of them," adding that his refusal to compromise his hard stance against drugs can serve as a shock therapy to the international community of narcotics suppliers.
In addition to the 64 sentenced to death for their involvement with narcotics, another 72 people have been sentenced to death for crimes ranging from homicide to terrorism.
Five convicts – 2 of them Nigerians – are expected to be executed before the end of 2014.
Source: BaliDiscovery.com, December 13, 2014
