Indonesia faces criticism over new execution bill despite decade-long pause on death penalty

Amnesty International says Indonesia continues to impose large numbers of death sentences despite a decade-long halt in executions, warning proposed execution regulations risk undermining human rights protections.

Amnesty International has warned that Indonesia remains a significant contributor of new death sentences globally despite not carrying out executions for nearly a decade.

In its latest report, Death Sentences and Executions 2025, released on Wednesday, Amnesty International said Indonesian courts handed down at least 68 death sentences during 2025, most of them linked to drug-related offences.

Although Indonesia has not executed prisoners since 2016, Amnesty said the continued use of capital punishment by the courts and the government’s plan to prepare new execution regulations reflected what it described as an inconsistent approach towards the right to life.

New execution bill draws criticism

Amnesty International Indonesia highlighted the government’s move to prepare a Bill on Procedures for Carrying Out the Death Penalty after the issuance of a Presidential Letter to Parliament on 11 March 2026.

Usman Hamid said the proposed regulation represented “a serious setback” for human rights protections.

“The new regulation being prepared is an irony and a serious setback for human rights enforcement. This policy exposes Indonesia’s ambiguous stance towards the right to life, particularly for death row prisoners,” Usman said.

Indonesia’s new Criminal Code, which took effect on 2 January 2026, introduced a conditional death penalty mechanism. Under the new system, death row inmates may receive a 10-year probationary period during which their sentences can be commuted to life imprisonment.

However, Amnesty criticised the government for prioritising technical regulations governing executions rather than strengthening mechanisms for sentence commutation.

“Rather than being preoccupied with designing new ways to take lives, the government and Parliament should focus on abolishing the death penalty entirely and replacing it with a truly civilised, fair, and humane sentencing system,” Usman said.

According to official data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, more than 500 prisoners are currently on death row across the country.

Indonesia among countries with highest number of new death sentences

Amnesty’s report placed Indonesia among the countries recording the highest number of new death sentences during 2025.

Indonesia recorded at least 68 new death sentences, equal to the figure recorded in Pakistan and higher than countries including Malaysia, which recorded 15, and Singapore, which recorded two.

The organisation stated that most death sentences in Indonesia continued to be imposed in narcotics cases.

Death sentences also continued into 2026. Amnesty cited rulings by the Surabaya District Court in February against two drug defendants, as well as an April decision by the Surabaya High Court upholding a death sentence issued in a murder case by the Bojonegoro District Court.

“Indonesia continues to maintain a dual stance on the death penalty. On the one hand, the country has not carried out executions for ten years, yet judges continue to hand down death sentences,” Usman said.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty creates a deterrent effect. We have long urged Indonesia to abolish capital punishment immediately and replace it with punishments that are more just and humane,” he added.

Amnesty calls for commutation of death row sentences

Amnesty International Indonesia urged the government to begin commuting existing death sentences instead of preparing new execution procedures.

The organisation said an initial step could involve commuting the sentences of more than 500 prisoners currently facing execution.

Amnesty also criticised the government’s argument that the proposed legislation was intended to replace outdated regulations and strengthen legal protections for death row inmates.

According to Usman, discussions on the bill should not be rushed because of the potential impact on human rights protections within Indonesia’s criminal justice system.

Global executions reach highest level in decades

Globally, Amnesty International recorded at least 2,707 executions during 2025, the highest number since 1981.

The figure does not include the thousands of executions believed to have taken place in China, where death penalty data remains classified as a state secret.

Amnesty said the sharpest increases in executions were recorded in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the United States.

Despite the rise in executions, the organisation said the global abolition movement continued to expand.

As of the end of 2025, 113 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while 145 countries were considered abolitionist either in law or practice. Indonesia remains classified as a retentionist country because its laws still permit capital punishment for ordinary crimes. 

Source: theonlinecitizen.com, Staff, May 21, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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