Int'l rights group appeals for leniency for men death row
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Human rights group Amnesty International appealed on Thursday to the Indonesian government to spare the lives of six men on death row.
Later in the day, the Attorney General's Office revealed the the identities of the six death penalty convicts, comprising one drug dealer and five murderers.
Appeals for a presidential pardon for the six convicts have been rejected.
The London-based Amnesty urged Indonesia, as a member of the United Nations, to comply with the world organization's opposition to the death penalty for drug-related crimes.
Amnesty opposes the death penalty in all cases, partly due to the risk of error.
It noted that the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights had expressed concern about corruption and low professional standards in the Indonesian judiciary.
The rights group urged people to write to President Megawati Soekarnoputri "emphasizing that there is no proof that the death penalty deters would-be traffickers more effectively than other punishments", and to appeal to the authorities to find a more humane way of tackling the problem.
The Attorney General's Office identified one of the six convicts on death row as Indian drug dealer Ayodya Prasad Chaubey.
Ayodya was sentenced to death by the Medan District Court in North Sumatra in 1994 for attempting to smuggle 12.29 kilograms of heroin into the country through Polonia Airport. The North Sumatra High Court and the Supreme Court both upheld the verdict.
The other convicts due to face a firing squad are Sumiasih, Sugeng, Djais Adipriyatno, Suryadi Swabuana and Jurit bin Abdullah, who were sentenced to death for murder.
The first three people were sentenced by the Surabaya District Court in East Java on Feb. 20, 1989 for premeditated murder.
Suryadi was handed a death sentence by the Palembang District Court in South Sumatra for theft and murder, while Jurit was sentenced to death by the Sekayu District Court in South Sumatra for premeditated murder.
"The Attorney General's Office received on Wednesday presidential decrees rejecting the convicts' appeals for pardons," office spokesman Andi Sjarifuddin announced.
Each execution may be carried out 30 days after the respective prosecutor's office receives a copy of the presidential decree, he said.
"The police will execute the death sentence convicts by shooting them dead," Andi said.
Under Law No 2/Pnps/1964 on the procedure of executions, convicts and their families must be informed within 72 hours of the President's refusal to pardon them, and executions are to be carried out through the simplest technique with a minimum of fuss.
The Indonesian Ulemas Council has expressed support for the execution of convicted drug dealers, saying capital punishment will deter further violations.