Police seek go-ahead to execute drug convicts
Police seek go-ahead to execute drug convicts
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
The National Police announced on Sunday that they were preparing
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 ... 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 all convicted
drugs dealers were appealing their sentences.
"Our data shows that there are no convicts to be executed in
the near future; 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 a number of big-time death-row offenders
whose death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court in 2001.
Their requests for clemency were also rejected by the President.
Under Laws No. 22/1997 on narcotics and No. 5/1997 on
psychotropic substances, certain drug offenses carry a maximum
sentence of death. The defendant may however appeal to the high
court and later to the Supreme Court.
Then although the Supreme Court hands down a ruling, a
convicted person may still ask the 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.
In the last 10 years only one person sentenced to death for
drug offenses has been executed -- -- Malaysian Chan Ting Tong
alias Steven Chong. 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.
Togar's office and the University of Indonesia have found that
around 4 percent of the population or around nine million people,
used drugs in 2003, an increase of almost 400 percent compared to
the 2002 figure. "Medication for one addict costs Rp 5 million
per month, so for some nine million addicts mean we have to spend
around Rp 45 trillion per month on medication alone," said Togar.
4 convicts whose clemency pleas have been rejected
by President
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No. Convict Nationality District Court
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1. Ayodhya Prasadh Chaubey Indian Medan
2. Deni Setia Maharwan Indonesian Tangerang
3. Meirika Franola Indonesian Tangerang
4. Rani Andriani Indonesian Tangerang
Source: National Narcotics Agency (BNN)