Death row convicts not forgotten

Death row convicts not forgotten

SEMARANG, Central Java: A group of lawyers will leave for Malaysia today to seek first-hand information on five Indonesian workers on death row in the neighboring country.

A spokesman for the lawyers, Ramdlon Naning, said yesterday that they would be meeting with both the condemned men and with Malaysian officials during the three-day visit.

The five workers are among 13 Indonesians convicted of committing serious offenses, such as murder and drug trafficking, in Malaysia. The other eight have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Ramdlon said the visit had been inspired by a letter received by the Indonesian Bar Association from one of the men awaiting execution, Markandi bin Dul Samad.

"We do not mean to interfere in the Malaysian judicial system. We just want to help Indonesian citizens who are facing the death penalty in a neighboring country," he said. (har)