Death row convicts to be deported, President says
Death row convicts to be deported, President says
JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid disclosed on Friday
his plan to deport nine foreigners who had been sentenced to
death for drug trafficking in Indonesia as a part of the
country's international role in combating the drugs.
Speaking at a public dialogue after saying Friday prayers at a
mosque near his private residence in Ciganjur, South Jakarta, the
President said that deportation was one of the options the
government would choose in handling the traffickers.
"We are pondering whether to expel them to their respective
countries for execution, or to execute them here," the President
replied, when asked about the fate of the drugs traffickers.
Four Nepalese, an Angolan and a Nigerian, are among the nine
who have so far been sentenced to death, but none of the
executions has yet been carried out.
In the latest case, the Tangerang District Court sentenced on
Thursday a Nigerian national to death for possessing 3.8
kilograms of heroin. The convict was identified as Samuel
Iwukchukwu Okoye, 31.
Okoye filed an appeal immediately after being told he had been
sentenced to death.
Kompas daily reported that Okoye was the ninth person to be
sentenced to death in the court's history. Eight other people,
comprising three Indonesians, four Nepalese and one Angolan, were
sentenced to death last year.
Okoye was arrested on Jan. 9 shortly after arriving at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Madras, India. He had a
stopover in Singapore.
Okoye denied that the heroin, hidden in his baggage, was his.
The daily reported that Okoye claimed an Indian named Anjit had
entrusted him with the package and he was to hand it over to an
Australian, identified as Ron, in a hotel in Jakarta. He said he
was arrested before he could arrange a meeting with Ron.
Presiding judge Silvester Suma said Okoye was apparently a
member of an international drug syndicate.
The Nigerian Embassy here plans to send officials to study the
details of a death sentence recently handed down to a Nigerian
national for possessing heroin, the ambassador said on Friday.
Ambassador Alhaji Saidu Mohammed said, "We just set the plan
to send our officials to check the details of the court ruling to
the related agencies here.
"So we don't close any possibilities for appeals or other
legal measures after we get the information," Mohammed told The
Jakarta Post.
Mohammed also stressed that principally his country did not
condone any crimes committed by Nigerian citizens visiting
Indonesia and expected all Nigerians to abide by regulations and
laws here. (prb/emf)