JP/4/drugs
Police seek go-ahead to execute drug convicts
Abdul Khalik Jakarta
The National police announced on Sunday that they a firing squad on standby to execute the drug dealers currently on death row, but the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said it had no immediate plans regarding their execution.
"We have designated officers to carry out the executions. However, we will have to wait for an order from the prosecutorial authorities before doing so. We hope they will issue such an instruction soon," National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said during an antidrug rally in Senayan, South Jakarta.
Separately on Sunday, an AGO spokesman said his office had no plans for the imminent execution of any convicted drugs dealer as all of them were appealing their sentences.
"Our data shows that there are no convicts to be executed in the near future. According to our records, they have all appealed to higher courts. We must wait for this process to end before planning executions," Kemas Yahya Rahman told The Jakarta Post.
But police data shows that at least four of the convicts have had their appeals rejected by the Supreme Court and the President rejected their pleas for clemency.
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) director Comr. Gen. Togar Sianipar said that four out of the around 30 convicts on death row should have been executed several months ago after their requests for presidential pardons were rejected.
"They must be executed as soon as possible to show our sincerity in eradicating drug trafficking. These executions would have a deterrent effect on other dealers," he told the Post.
He was referring to big-time death-row offenders such as Meirika Franola, Rani Maharani, and Dany Maharwan, whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2001. Their requests for clemency were also rejected by the President.
According to Laws No. 22/1997 on narcotics and No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances, certain drug offenses carry a maximum sentence of death.
However, even though a district court sentences a defendant to death, he or she may appeal to the high court and later to the Supreme Court.
The process does not end here because although the Supreme Court has handed down a ruling, a convicted person may still ask the Supreme Court to review the case based on new evidence, and then file up to two requests for presidential pardon as stipulated in Law No. 3/1950 on clemency.
Togar blamed the slow and unwieldy legal process for the slow progress as regards the execution of convicted drug dealers.
He accused prosecutors and higher courts of intentionally trying to prolong the appeals process so as to delay the execution of the persons involved.
Out of so a large number of persons sentenced to death for drug offenses, only one has been executed in the last 10 years -- Malaysian Chan Ting Tong alias Steven Chong was shot by a 12-man firing squad.
The failure to execute those given the death penalty had caused an increase in the number of drugs cases over the last three years, Togar argued.
According to the latest survey by Togar's office and the University of Indonesia, around 4 percent of the Indonesian population, or around nine million people, used drugs in 2003, an increase of almost 400 percent compared to the 2002 figure.
"The medication for one addict costs Rp 5 million per month. Around nine million of addicts mean we have to spend around Rp 45 trillion per month on medication alone," said Togar.
I-box
4 convicts whose clemency pleas have been rejected by President
No. Convict Nationality District Court 1. Ayodhya Prasadh Chaubey Indian Medan 2. Deni Setia Maharwan Indonesian Tangerang 3. Meirika Franola Indonesian Tangerang 4. Rani Andriani Indonesian Tangerang