Indonesia | Ministry details efforts to protect Indonesians from death penalty

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Foreign Affairs Ministry has detailed efforts made by the government to protect Indonesian citizens (WNI) from the death penalty abroad.

"There are three principles that we adhere to protect Indonesian citizens which are regulated in the Minister of Foreign Affairs' Regulation Number 5 of 2018," Director for the Protection of Citizens and Legal Entities Overseas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, said here on Monday.

The first is prioritizing the responsible parties, he said. Second, the government does not take any criminal or civil responsibility, he added. Lastly, the protection is provided in accordance with national law, local state law, and customary international law, he continued.

"We do not give impunity to our citizens who commit crimes abroad, but the duty of our state is to provide legal assistance," Nugraha remarked.

The legal assistance is intended to ensure Indonesian citizens facing legal action in other countries have fair access to their rights, he said.

Efforts to protect Indonesian citizens from the death penalty in foreign countries also depend on the country imposing the sentence, he added. For example, Saudi Arabia and Middle Eastern countries usually refer to Islamic law, he explained.

"In Islamic countries, there are three types of murder cases, namely hadd, takzir, and kisas," Nugraha said.

However, murder cases in those countries are generally included in kisas, he added. For kisas, there is an apology mechanism that is carried out or given by the victim's family, he elaborated.

In addition, the state has also made a number of other efforts to help Indonesian citizens in foreign countries encountering problems with the law through litigation and non-litigation steps, he said.

Legal efforts taken include consular access, appointment of lawyers and translators, and other efforts according to the law in the local country, he informed.

Diplomatic efforts include diplomacy at the bilateral level through lobbying or diplomatic notes and approaching the sultan or the local state government, he said.

The government can also approach the victim's family, provide moral support, and campaign for public awareness, he added.

Source: antaranews.com, Staff, October 18, 2021

206 Indonesians Abroad Face Death Penalties, Says Foreign Affairs Ministry

The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Director of Protection of Indonesian Citizens and Legal Entities, Judha Nugraha, in a discussion on Monday revealed that 206 Indonesian citizens incarcerated abroad are on death row in 2021.

“There are 206 cases in total as of October, with 79 of them are inkracht (a final and binding court ruling),” said Nugraha in the discussion about death sentences, gender-based violence, and torture against women on October 18, Antaranews reported.

Among the hundreds of Indonesians facing death penalties, he said most were residing in Malaysia with 188 sentenced to death. Other countries handing out death sentences are Saudi Arabia (5), United Arab Emirate (4), Laos (3), China (2), and one each in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Singapore.

“Most of their cases involve narcotics,” he added. Besides narcotics, there were also other cases related to murder. Referring to their gender, 39 of them are women.

He explained that the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry in 2021 continued to assist the Indonesians and do its best to prevent them from being handed the death sentence with 2 successful cases involving a West Java resident and a West Nusa Tenggara resident who were freed from death row for murder cases.

In general, from 2011 to 2021, the Ministry managed to help 516 Indonesians out of death penalties.

Source: en.tempe.co, Staff, October 18, 2021

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