Jakarta Globe, Ezra Sihite, Dec 22, 2014
Jakarta. Having granted clemency to a female activist just last week, President Joko Widodo on Monday promised that other female Indonesian activists would never be imprisoned again for defending human rights.
Activists protesting against violence against women, in Central Jakarta on Sunday. (Antara Photo/Reno Esnir) |
Jakarta. Having granted clemency to a female activist just last week, President Joko Widodo on Monday promised that other female Indonesian activists would never be imprisoned again for defending human rights.
“We have to
keep fighting for people’s rights. Female activists, who strive for their
rights and also other people’s rights, should never be imprisoned. Something
like that should never happen again,” Joko, also known as Jokowi, said on
Monday in Jakarta.
The
president was speaking on Indonesia’s Mother’s Day. It was not immediately
clear whether his pledge would also apply to male human rights defenders.
Last
Wednesday, the Justice and Human Rights Ministry issued a letter granting
clemency to Eva Susanti Bande, a human rights activist who had been jailed
after standing up for farmers’ rights in Luwuk, South Sulawesi, in 2010
Eva, who
was released from the Petobo detention center in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on
Friday, was convicted of instigation and vandalism for her involvement in a
rally with a group of farmers against a palm oil company.
In 2010,
the Luwuk District Court in Central Sulawesi sentenced Eva to 3.5 years in
prison but her sentence was increased to four years on appeal. Eva requested
presidential clemency after the Supreme Court turned down her appeal last year.
“I granted
Eva’s plea for clemency because I’m fully aware of what she’s striving for,
which is the people’s right to land,” Joko said.
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