Judges reject review request by two convicted Nigerians

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Last-minute efforts by two convicted Nigerians to escape the firing squad failed Thursday after judges rejected their appeals for reviews of their convictions on the grounds that they had provided no new evidence.

Samuel Iwukchukwu Okoye, 36, and Hansen Anthony Nwalise, 38, who were sentenced to death in 2001 for smuggling drugs into the country, had sought leave to seek reviews from the Tangerang District Court, saying that they were remorseful for their acts.

"They offered no new evidence, which is a prerequisite before a convicted defendant can seek a review his conviction by the Supreme Court," presiding judge Suparpto told a hearing on Thursday.

With the judges throwing out their requests, the two may now face the firing squad. The dates and venues of their possible executions have yet to be determined.

Article 263 of the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP) and the Conviction Review Law (No. 8/1981) state that a convicted defendant may only have his conviction reviewed by the Supreme Court if he has new evidence.

"Besides, the two convict defendants had sought presidential pardons and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, through Presidential Decree No. 13/G/2004 dated July 9, 2004, had rejected their appeals," he said.

Okeye was arrested on Jan. 9, 2001, shortly after arriving at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from Madras, India. He was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court on July 5, 2001, for smuggling 3.8 kilograms of heroin into the country.

Nwalise, on the other hand, was apprehended at the airport on Jan. 29 after being caught carrying 600 grams of heroin on a Pakistani Airlines flight from Karachi. He was sentenced to death by the Tangerang District Court along with fellow Nigerian Okwudili Ayotanze, Zimbabwean Ozias Sibanda and Nepalese Indra Bahadur Tamang on Aug. 14, 2001.

Since January 2000, the Tangerang District Court has sentenced 30 convicted drug smugglers to death, including five Indonesians. However, none of them have been executed so far.