Death row convicts await their end
JAKARTA (JP): Sixteen convicts, including six foreigners as well, are scheduled to be executed in the near future after being convicted with premeditated murder or the production and trafficking of drugs, said a senior legal official on Wednesday.
The convicts, three of whom are women, are serving sentences at nine penitentiaries throughout Indonesia, according to a report available at the Directorate General of Correctional Institutions.
The director general of correctional institutions, Hasanuddin, said the convicts awaiting the death penalty were Bahar bin Matar, Suryadi Swabuana, Djais A.P, Sugeng, Astini, Sumiasih, Gerson Pandi, Fedrick Saru, Dauce Saru, Tugiman, Koh Kim Chea, Kam Jai Khong, Ayodya Prasad, Saelon Prasad, Thom Tuck Yen and Namsong Sirilok.
The last five convicts, all foreigners, were sentenced to death for the production and trafficking of drugs, and Koh Kim Chea for premeditated murder. Koh is kept at Cipinang penitentiary in East Jakarta.
Hasanuddin said prison officials were instructed to treat the convicts differently from others.
"We've been treating them differently. Psychologically, they are different from other convicts," he told The Jakarta Post in his office on Wednesday.
He noticed that the convicts suffered depression after requests for clemency from the head of state were rejected.
"We, therefore, provide priests or kyais (Muslim priests) to assist them in their search for peace of mind," he said.
He said, however, that the convicts were placed in separate cells from other prisoners.
"We put them in special prison cells, separated from other convicts.
"Their cells are also of a special design inside," said Hasanuddin without elaborating.
He said they would be treated the same as other convicts were if they behaved well and worked cooperatively with prison officials during their stay.
"However, we separate them from other convicts for a certain time period, usually a week, if they protest often, trigger hate among convicts or show a hostile attitude to prison officials," he said.
Hasanuddin said each prison allocates time every day for prisoners to do gardening, sports or chat outside prison cells, still within the penitentiary complex.
Execution
Hasanuddin said the execution of the convicts would depend on the President's reply to their request for clemency.
"The President's reply will usually give a deadline for the execution. The Prosecutor's Office will order a team under the Elite Police Mobile Brigade to conduct the execution," he said.
He said the firing squad would consist of 12 policemen and only one gun would have bullets.
"It is meant to ease the guilt felt among the firing squad after the execution," he said.
Hasanuddin dismissed the possibility that the execution would be conducted through methods other than a shooting.
He personally disagreed with the death sentence, however, saying that it was against human rights principles.
"The death penalty is also against the principle of the correctional institution, which aims to rehabilitate the convicts' behavior and bring them back to the community," he said. (asa)