RI's first drugs maximum security prison opens

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Alarmed by the rising number of drug-related crimes, the government opened on Thursday the country's first ever maximum security prison for drug dealers in Cipinang, East Jakarta.

The three-story narcotics penitentiary, the first of 17 prisons the government will set up nationwide, is also expected to ease congestion at prisons in Jakarta and surrounding areas.

"We are all aware of the growing problem of drug abuse which threatens countries around the world, including Indonesia," Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said in his report to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who opened the penitentiary.

Indonesia, said Yusril, has become a transit point in the international drug trade, especially drugs sent to Australia and the United States.

This has resulted in an increasing number of drug-abuse cases. The number of drug-abuse cases reached 2,073 in 2001 and the figure shot up to 9,902 in 2003.

Data from the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) showed that drugs had claimed the lives of around 500,000 Indonesians aged between 13 years and 25 years in the past few years.

"This indicates that the issue of drug abuse must be handled comprehensively with specific emphasis," Yusril said.

The Cipinang Narcotics Penitentiary, which cost around Rp 63 billion (US$7.4 million) was specifically designed for convicted drug traders, who are also drug users, hence the maximum security arrangement, said Yusril.

The minister said the prison was built in accordance with military-standard security with three walls surrounding the complex.

"The outer wall will be guarded by military personnel, because we want the guards in the outer ring to have no contact at all with the prisoners," said Yusril, adding that security inside of the prison would be handled by prison guards.

The Cipinang Narcotics Penitentiary is equipped with a clinic, isolation rooms and medical personnel.

He said that the prison, which can accommodate around 1,500 prisoners at one time, would begin taking inmates in December.

Yusril also said that the Cipinang Narcotics Penitentiary would reduce congestion in overcrowded prisons in Jakarta and its vicinity.

"Narcotics-related criminals from around Jakarta, Bekasi, Tangerang and Bogor areas will be brought here," he said.

Prisons in Jakarta and its surrounding areas can accommodate a maximum of 65,422 inmates. However, currently there are 84,357 inmates -- consisting of 51,879 convicted criminals and 32,468 detainees -- crammed into those prisons.

Convicted drug users and traders often share rooms with ordinary criminals.

The justice and human rights ministry is planning to set up 16 narcotics prisons around the country. Two others are being constructed in Medan, North Sumatra, and Lampung.

Several penitentiaries have also been designed as narcotics prisons such as Pamekasan in East Java, Nusakambangan in Central Java and Cirebon in West Java.

"The biggest prison is the one in Cirebon, which can accommodate around 2,000 prisoners, but the Cipinang Narcotics Penitentiary is the only maximum security prison for drug offenders," Yusril said.