Trafficker gets death sentence commuted<\/p>\n
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post\/Tangerang<\/p>\n
The West Java High Court has heard the appeal for Nigerian drug
\nconvict Stephen Rasheed Akinyemi, 34, and decided to reduce his
\nsentence from the death penalty to a 20-year imprisonment.<\/p>\n
"We received a notice from the High Court on Monday, stating
\nthat the death penalty for the defendant had been lowered to a
\n20-year imprisonment," Juli Agus, Tangerang District Court clerk
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The reduction of the sentence is the first ever in a drug case
\nhandled in Tangerang, which has convicted many drug traffickers,
\nmostly foreigners, who tried to smuggle drugs through Soekarno-
\nHatta International Airport, and sentenced them to death row.<\/p>\n
The court officials on Wednesday refused to reveal the full
\ncontent of the ruling, with all the reasons behind the reduction,
\nuntil the prosecutors and the convict received copies.<\/p>\n
Chief of the special crimes unit at the Tangerang Prosecutor's
\nOffice, Anwarudin, claimed that he had yet to receive the copy of
\nthe ruling.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Eben Silalahi, another prosecutor who was working
\non Akinyemi's case, said that he would appeal to the Supreme
\nCourt.<\/p>\n
Silalahi charged Akinyemi with violating Article 82 of the Law
\nNo.22\/1997 on psychotropic substances and sought life
\nimprisonment for the defendant. The Tangerang District Court,
\nhowever, handed down the death sentence for Akinyemi on March 5.<\/p>\n
"As soon as we receive a copy of the verdict, we will file
\nan appeal to the Supreme Court," he said. He added that he could
\nhave accepted the verdict if the High Court had lowered the
\ncapital punishment to life imprisonment as he had proposed
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
Akinyemi, resident of Benin City, Nigeria, was one of 26 drug
\nconvicts on death row in Tangerang prison.<\/p>\n
During his stay in Indonesia, Akinyemi married an Indonesian
\nwoman. The couple has three children.<\/p>\n
He was arrested at the airport before flying to Surabaya on
\nJuly 1 last year. An airport security officer in charge at the
\nterminal checkpoint searched Akinyemi who set the alarm off when
\nhe passed through the check gate.<\/p>\n
The officers found two plastic bags strapped to his groin.<\/p>\n
A test later confirmed that each plastic bag contained 200
\ngrams of heroin.<\/p>\n
Tangerang prosecutors had also sought the death sentence for
\nNigerian-born Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, 39, who is a Kenyan
\nnational, for smuggling 1.2 kilograms of heroin into the country
\nfrom Pakistan in December last year.<\/p>\n
Another Nigerian, Daniel Enemuo, alias Diarrassouba Mamadou,
\n28, is currently standing trial at the Tangerang court for
\nsmuggling 1.15 kilograms heroin from Pakistan in January.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/trafficker-gets-death-sentence-commuted-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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