Staff Writer
Indonesia
has formally notified 10 prisoners convicted of drug trafficking that their
executions will be carried out as soon as possible. On Saturday, the nine
foreigners and one Indonesian man were told their executions by firing squad were
to be carried out in Besi prison on Nusakambangan Island. Indonesia has
incredibly strict drug laws and often executes smugglers; more than 130 people
are on death row, mostly for drug crimes. One third of these convicts are
foreigners.
When
Indonesian President Joko Widodo took office last October, he declared
Indonesia to be facing a drug crisis. Indonesia has some of the toughest drug
laws in the world. But Jakarta believes their country’s drug problem justifies their
harsh punishments; 33 Indonesians die every day as a result of drugs.
The
execution has caused an international outcry and has angered Indonesia’s
largest aid donors, including Australia and the European Union. In January, six
convicted drug smugglers were executed at the same prison, two were from the
Netherlands and Brazil. These two nations recalled their ambassadors in
protest, and Australia may be following suit after the upcoming executions.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon advised Widodo to “urgently consider
declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward
abolition.”
France
and the Philippines, who both oppose the death penalty, are also upset. French
President Francois Hollande has mentioned the diplomatic and economic consequences
of executing their compatriot. Philippine’s President Benigno Aquino III
planned to again appeal the case of Filipino convict Mary Jane Veloso to
Widodo. Veloso wrote Aquino from the Indonesian prison she resided in, claiming
she was tricked into carrying illegal drugs as she traveled in the hopes of
gaining a job as a house helper, “Please save my life, I have two children who
need the love of their mother. We're poor and I wanted to change our life but I
could never commit the crime they have accused me of.”
A
French citizen on the list to be executed won a two week reprieve by the State
Administrative Court in Jakarta, which will hear his challenge to a clemency
rejection by Widodo. But, for the rest of the convicts, Indonesia is proceeding
with the execution despite international protest and pleads for clemency. Tony
Spontana, spokesman for the Indonesian attorney general’s office says, “We are
confirmed for the nine people to go to execution.”
Advocates
for the convicts argue the Indonesian courts that sentenced the convicts were
corrupt. One Nigerian didn’t have a lawyer when he tried to appeal to his death
sentence. The Brazilian convict, Rodrigo Gularte, has had schizophrenia and
bipolar disorder since he was a teenager. His lawyers argue these conditions
should have disqualified him from criminal prosecution under Indonesian law. The
Indonesian wife of another convicted Nigerian claims the judges at her
husband’s trial offered a lighter sentence in exchange for a bribe, lawyers for
the two Australian convicts declare the same. The two Australian men, members
of the Bali Nine, admit their guilt and say they have reformed since the 2005
incident where they attempted to smuggle 18 pounds of heroin from Indonesia to
Australia. But, one of the judges involved in the case denied allegations
surrounding bribes, “I can assure you there was none. We protected ourselves
from everybody. It was purely our decision.”
Australian
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop urged Indonesia to halt the execution of its two
nationals until a corruption investigation was complete. However, ambulances
arrived Tuesday with coffins for the convicts, and relatives were given five
hours for a final visit. On Monday, an Australian prisoner, Andrew Chan, married
his Indonesian fiancée in a small wedding ceremony at the prison. Chan’s
brother described their emotional farewell, “I saw today something that no
other family should ever have to go through. To walk out of there and say
goodbye for the last time, it is torture. No family should go through that.”
Europe’s
47 nation human rights organization, the Council of Europe, issued a statement
Tuesday telling Indonesia to not go through with the execution. Council of
Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said, “The death penalty is a
terrible injustice which can never be put right.” But, Indonesia continues to
ignore appeals by foreign leaders to spare their lives, believing court rulings
could not be amended and foreigners lack a legal standing for a judicial review.
A sister of one death row inmate said, “There were so many things to talk
about. We did talk about the death penalty and he knows this is just a waste...
I ask the president [of Indonesia] to please show mercy, please don't let my
mum and my sister have to bury my brother.”
Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott recalled their ambassador after the executions took
place Wednesday morning. He believes the execution of the two Australian men,
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, was unnecessary because the two had been “fully
rehabilitated” during 10 years in prison. These two men were among eight drug
smugglers executed by the firing squad of 12, Veloso was spared at the last
moment, her mother commented, “We are so happy, so happy. I thought I had lost
my daughter already but God is so good. Thank you to everyone who helped us.”
But, there was still great guilt surrounding the situation. One of the Australian
men’s Indonesian lawyer tweeted his apologies, “I failed. I lost. I’m sorry.”
