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Pasir Putih Maximum Security Prison on Nusakambangan
Island, Central Java, Indonesia. |
The date of the transfer of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will be decided on Tuesday, Indonesian officials have revealed, as its government maintains there is no need to wait for legal appeals to be heard before executing the Bali nine duo.
Bali's chief prosectuor, Momock Bambang Samiarso, revealed the information after leaving Kerobokan prison late on Monday, where he met with prison governor Sudjonggo, Australian consul-general Majell Hind and lawyer for the pair Julian McMahon.
"[The date] will be decided tomorrow at the co-ordination meeting," Mr Momock said.
The comments come as HM Prasetyo, Indonesia's Attorney-General, said that numerous legal appeals would not affect the timing of the execution and were irrelevant.
Chan and Sukumaran's lawyers plan to lodge an appeal in the next week. They are appealing the refusal of Indonesian President Joko Widodo to grant clemency to the Australian drug smugglers, saying he did not consider their case properly.
Several others slated to be executed also have legal appeals in the works, including one case involving a Philippine woman, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, which is due to be heard on Tuesday.
"The [clemency] request was rejected so it is the final decision. Actually, after clemency there is no more legal avenues left," Mr Prasetyo said.
Counsel for the Australians, Julian McMahon, said Mr Prasetyo's stance would bring international condemnation upon Indonesia. It was important that his clients' case was tested on its merits and the rule of law was respected in Indonesia, he added.
Mr Prasetyo said that preparations were "95 per cent" complete for the simultaneous killing by firing squad of the Bali nine duo and eight other drug felons. All up, nine of those to be killed are foreigners.
"Regarding the transfer [of Chan and Sukumaran from Bali], it will be done as soon as possible," he added. "It's all related to technical issues. Maybe there are still some things that need to be prepared.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, Tom Allard, March 2, 2015
Prosecutor, police recall ‘terrifying’ executions
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Police shooting range on Nusakambangan Prison Island,
where executions by firing squad are carried out. |
There was a long silence when a senior prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) brought up his experiences leading three separate executions of death-row convicts during an interview last week.
The prosecutor, a former head of the North Maluku Prosecutor’s Office identified only by the initials AK, said the task he was assigned to was not something to be proud of.
“I have buried those dark memories,” AK, whose credentials also include the position of deputy head of the Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office, told The Jakarta Post.
“I was nervous about the executions, even until the last seconds before the firing squad pulled their triggers. But I had to fulfill my duties,” he said.
AK led his first execution in 2006, but refused to go into detail. He was only willing to discuss the execution of mass murderer Ahmad Suradji in 2008 in North Sumatra. The shaman was convicted in of murdering 42 women in 1998.
“The convict didn’t show signs of grief. It was a quick death,” he said.
AK insisted that during all three executions he oversaw, the firing squad never missed.
“All the convicts died within a minute,”.
“Firing squad personnel are all well-trained. They have to be mentally fit for the job,” he said.
Under Law No. 2/1964 on the procedures of an execution, the prosecutor is tasked with leading executions.
The prosecutor is required to announce the date of an execution three days beforehand. A convict should then immediately be transferred to an isolation cell at the location of the execution and be informed that they will face the firing squad.
According to AK, at the time of the execution, the convict is escorted by police personnel to the execution field, which is a restricted area. The convict is required to be blindfolded in his or her transfer to the place of execution.
Fourteen personnel from the police’s Mobile Brigade (Brimob) are assigned to an execution, but only 12 are tasked with shooting while the two others are placed on standby.
According to Brimob chief Brig. Gen. Robby Kaligis, police officers in their early 20s were usually selected to carry out the task as they were considered to be physically and mentally more fit than their seniors.
Robby himself had been part of a firing squad in the 1980s but declined to share his experience as he thought that the execution method was different compared to now.
He explained that the officers selected for the firing squad were given extra training to sharpen their shooting skills but acknowledged that preparing themselves mentally was much more important.
“The shooting is actually the easiest part. It’s much harder to ensure that they are mentally prepared,” he said, adding that such a terrifying experience should be forgotten.
“I don’t want to remember that part of my life. We need to focus on the present and the future,” he said.
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Source: The Jakarta Post, March 2, 2015
