Minister to Investigate Age of Death Row Convict Whom Activists Say Is Juvenile

Jakarta Globe, SP/Dina Manafe, Mar 25, 2015

Police officers outside the gateway to Indonesia's maximum-secuirty
prison island complex on Nusakambangan, Cilacap. (Reuters Photo)

Cilacap, Central Java. Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Yohana Yambise said on Wednesday she would cancel the death penalty for a teenager convicted of murder if he were found to have been a juvenile when he was sentenced by a North Sumatra court in 2013.

“I came to check on Yusman and he says he’s in a safe and sound condition,” Yohana told reporters on Wednesday at Nusakambangan penitentiary in Cilacap, Central Java.

“I also came to make sure if he’s a minor,” the minister added.

Yusman Telaumbanua was sentenced to die by firing squad by Gunung Sitoli district court in Nias, North Sumatra, on May 21 2013, for being involved in the premeditated murder of three people in 2012.

On Aug. 17, 2013, Yusman was transferred to Nusakambangan prison to be executed by firing squad. The execution has been placed on hold pending an investigation into his age.

“I haven’t made any decision yet but I will dig deeper into this case,” Yohana said, adding that she would consult with Indonesia’s National Child Protection Commission in the investigation.

She said she would visit Yusman’s village in Nias to check with his school as well as his neighbors and church, which issued Yusman’s certificate of baptism.

“If he is proven to be underage, then we will revise his sentence,” she said. “For children, it’s a maximum 10 years’ imprisonment.”

When Yusman was handed the sentence, the court claimed Yusman was born in 1993, which would have made him an adult.

However, the Commission of Missing Persons and Victims of Violence reported later that Yusman’s baptism certificate proved he was born on Aug. 5, 1996.

The Nias civil registry office has also denied that Yusman was born in 1993, Kontras said.

Indonesian law defines anyone who is under 18 years old as minors.