A day with a death row prisoner

Saka bin Juma, 45, has been on death row in Cipenang Prison, East Jakarta, since 1995 for murdering three people on Kigang island in Riau, Sumatra, a crime he says was not his doing. Born in the remote village of Bone, Sulawesi, this father of six is married to Bunga, 35, whom he has not seen since what he says was an "abduction and beating" by the police. Unless pardoned by the President, he faces death by firing squad. Saka shared his prison cell and thoughts with The Jakarta Post's William Furney.

JAKARTA (JP): Because I've got so much to ask Allah for, I get up at 3 a.m. and say a hadjat prayer for two hours in my cell. It's a special prayer for people who need help and have a strong desire to be close to Allah. Then I say the subuh morning prayer.

After that, I'll lie back in bed and listen to dangdut on my radio. The officers come with breakfast at 6 a.m. The food is OK -- there's tempeh and rice, and eggs twice a week.

There's not much to do in the mornings. On Monday mornings though, I go to the prison mosque for religious instruction. I pray to Allah and ask that my sentence be changed and that I can be free.

Sometimes I feel so alone here, and that can be very difficult to deal with.

I haven't seen my wife or children since I was taken to the police station in Riau in 1994. It's too far for them to come visit me. I'm illiterate so I can't write letters or anything. It makes me very sad but there's nothing I can do about it. Bunga earns money working on a coconut plantation. I don't know if she has remarried, but I wouldn't blame her if she has because she hasn't seen me for so long.

The only thing I want in life is to get out of here; I don't belong in jail. But I don't know if I'd go back to my village; I'd probably feel too ashamed.

Lunch is early here, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sometimes there's meat, but usually it's ordinary food like tempeh. It's brought to the cell.

I don't accept this death sentence as there is no way I killed those three people. I don't even know how they were killed. They were the owners of a farm I worked at. One of my neighbors suspected it was me, and one night, at about 12 a.m. when I was sleeping, the police came to my house and accused me of the murders. I was shocked and told them I didn't know anything about it, but they took me to the station anyway. There, they beat me with sticks and whips to make me confess. They also burned my feet with matches. I still have the scars.

Eventually, after 15 days, I couldn't take any more and told them I did it. I was in so much pain and knew I shouldn't have confessed but there was no alternative. I would have died, and as it turns out, I am to be executed anyway; I should have let the police finish me off. I didn't have a lawyer in the court as I didn't have any money and I don't understand things like that anyway.

I'd like to appeal or ask for my sentence to be commuted, but I can't. I don't want to ask anyone for help as I'm too ashamed of what has happened. And I'm not able to write to the President. I want to but don't know how.

Death is not something that scares me. I just hope it comes sooner rather than later. The waiting is hard and I feel very confused about it. I don't want to have to wait a long time, and it has already been drawn-out. The days are long.

I share the cell with five others; they're not awaiting execution as they are just thieves. Although we live in such a small area, I don't talk to them. I don't talk to anyone anymore because I think I won't understand what they are talking about; I'm just a simple person. People in here are very sad about my situation.

Because I have been sentenced to death, my life is difficult. It's hard to make sense of things. I don't know why this has happened to me.

But prison life is not so harsh in itself. There aren't that many strict regulations and we're permitted to move around in our limited space. I'm allowed to wear what little I have, like batik shirts and trousers, and don't have to wear the regulation blue prison uniform.

The prison officers here are all fine; I stay out of their way and they leave me alone. They know I'm not guilty and feel pity for me. Most of the prisoners are good people too, although a small number of them can be dangerous. In some ways, I'm resigned to my fate and have never even tried to escape from prison; I wouldn't be able to anyway.

I have nothing in life apart from my house in Riau. I don't have any money to speak of. There's a cooperative farm here and I plant and take care of vegetables every day, for which I get Rp 2,000 or Rp 3,000 per day.

After maghrib, we are given the evening meal. With the money I earn, I buy some vegetables and cook in my cell. We've got some small cooking equipment there and I like to make things for myself as the prison food can be boring sometimes.

There's also a television in the cell, and I'll watch that in the evenings.

I usually go to sleep at about 10 p.m., wondering if there will be a future and dreaming of being free.