Minister says prisoner exchange deal with Australia possible

Minister says prisoner exchange deal with Australia possible

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A prisoner exchange deal between Indonesia and Australia is not
out of the question as such an arrangement would be mutually
beneficial, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda says.

However discussions on the issue could be time-consuming,
considering the many aspects that would need to be addressed,
including revisions to Indonesia's Criminal Code, which regulates
that a prison term handed down by courts here is served in the
country.

Hassan said on Wednesday that prisoner transfers were common
between countries, and there had been requests from several
foreign governments for Indonesia to enact the scheme.

The issue of repatriating criminals was raised after Australia
proposed a treaty be negotiated with Indonesia following the 20-
year sentence handed down last month to Australian Schapelle
Corby, who was convicted in Bali of drug trafficking.

"But I can assure you that it wouldn't be a special case of
transfer, for Corby alone, if the treaty was materialized. It
would be applied generally and then we would need to look at the
specifics, such as the nature of the crime, or how much of their
sentence would need to be served before the transfer," Hassan
told a hearing with House of Representatives Commission I for
defense and foreign affairs.

Corby's conviction has sparked widespread outrage in
Australia. The Indonesian embassy in Canberra received a package
which Hassan called as "threat of terror" twice in the past week.

The minister said Australia was yet to submit any draft treaty
for discussion, and no specific talks had been held so far.

Similar requests have also been made by France, Pakistan,
Chile, Peru, Columbia and Argentina, among other countries,
Hassan said.

"Indonesia actually needs to open the door to this kind of
treaty since many of our citizens are imprisoned abroad too,
including for drug trafficking. For example, two of our citizens
in Peru were released after serving half their time but had to
remain there.

"They cannot get a job and could be involved in another drug-
related crime. It would be better if they were sent back here,
even if only to complete their prison terms," Hassan said.

The minister said the enactment of such a treaty would mostly
fall under the authority of the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights.

Zulkarnaen Yusuf, the foreign ministry's director general of
legal administration, recently said the government was now
persuading lawmakers to approve such a treaty with Australia.

There are three Indonesian nationals serving prison terms in
Australia, including one jailed for 20 years for a drug-related
crime, and a number of fishermen being detained for crossing
state borders illegally.

On the other hand, there are about 13 Australians imprisoned
in Indonesia for various offenses, including drug abuse.

Zulkarnaen said Indonesia was studying the Australia-Thailand
treaty, which enables the repatriation of convicts after serving
one third of their prison terms.

During Wednesday's hearing, lawmakers in House Commission I,
however, rejected any draft treaty and assured there would be no
endorsement if it was only to accommodate the Corby case.

"There will be no repatriation treaty if it is to be applied
in the Corby case alone. It should be applied on a general level
and would take serious deliberations," said commission chairman
Theo L. Sambuaga.