Death row inmates plead for clemency

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

"Ibu, please help us. Don't let us be shot by the firing squad ... We still have families and children," Edith Yunita Sianturi told visiting First Lady Kristiani Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday, seeking clemency from the death sentence imposed on her.

Sianturi is one of six female inmates on death row at the Tangerang Penitentiary who were paid a visit by Kristiani and the State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta, accompanied by Banten deputy governor Ratu Atut Choisiah.

The visit to the women cells was in conjunction with the Women's Day on Dec. 22.

As the six only had two minutes to meet Kristiani, they tearfully tried to stop her from leaving. Presidential bodyguards and prison officers pushed them back in.

Before leaving, Kristiani told the warden and guards to treat the inmates well and asked that the convicted women write a journal "which could be a mirror for others to avoid committing crimes".

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla are working hard to build a prosperous, peaceful and just country. So, you must abide by the law when you're out of here someday. Never return to jail," she said.

Meanwhile, Meutia pledged to hold a one-hour breath exercise session each day in the prison to maintain the inmates' mental health.

The women's penitentiary currently houses 260 inmates and 60 percent of them were convicted for drugs offenses, including those on death row: Sianturi, Merry Utami, Meirika Franola and Rani Andriani, and two Thai nationals, Nonthanam M. Saicom and Bunyong Kaosa Ard.