Jakarta Globe, Apr 29, 2015
Jakarta. Indonesia carried out the execution of eight drug convicts by firing squad on Nusa Kambangan, Central Java, early Wednesday despite multiple efforts from human rights activists and united appeals from world leaders to stop the killings.
Indonesia carried out the execution of eight drug convicts early on April 29, 2015. (Antara Photo/Muhammad Adimaja) |
Jakarta. Indonesia carried out the execution of eight drug convicts by firing squad on Nusa Kambangan, Central Java, early Wednesday despite multiple efforts from human rights activists and united appeals from world leaders to stop the killings.
Those people
executed were “Bali Nine” duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, both
Australians; Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian diagnosed with a mental illness;
Raheem Agbaje Salami, Martin Anderson, Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwudili
Oyatanze of Nigeria; and Indonesian national Zainal Abidin.
Mary Jane
Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines was saved from Wednesday’s execution after
President Joko Widodo met with several activists and ministers early in the day
following a report that a woman who recruited Veloso had surrendered herself to
Philippine authorities.
A
Frenchman, Serge Atlaoui, was initially part of this group to be executed, but
he was granted a temporary reprieve after his lawyer managed to file a final
appeal on the verge of the deadline on Thursday.
The
executions were carried out despite last-minute appeals from Australia, France
and the European Union to Joko to halt the planned action just hours before.
“It is not
too late for a change of heart,” the two countries and the EU said in the
statement.
“It is our
honest hope that Indonesia can show mercy to the condemned prisoners.”
The
statement says that the ideals of forgiveness and rehabilitation are just as
fundamental to Indonesia’s justice system as they are to their own.
“In making
this appeal, we ask that Indonesia also reflect on the impact on its global
standing and international reputation. We support Indonesia’s efforts to secure
clemency for its citizens abroad. Halting these executions would help its
endeavours,” the two countries and the EU said.
Australia,
France and the EU also expressed their support for the recent statement by
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in which he called for Indonesia
to refrain from carrying out the executions and urged Joko to urgently consider
declaring a moratorium on capital punishment.
“We fully
respect Indonesia’s sovereignty. But we are strongly opposed to the death
penalty at home and abroad,” they said.
“These
executions will not deter drug trafficking or stop others from falling victim
to drug abuse. To execute these prisoners now would achieve nothing.”
Executioners
and a total of 12 ambulances carrying coffins had been deployed to
Nusakambangan prison island earlier on Tuesday.
“Each
person will face 14 executors,” the Central Java Police chief, Insp. Gen. Noer
Ali, said. “There are nine people in total,” he said, apparently unaware that
Veloso’s executed would be delayed.
Ban as a Western stooge
Pope Francis shakes hands with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, right, during a meeting at the Vatican on April 28, 2015. (Reuters Photo/ Osservatore Romano) |
Ban as a Western stooge
France,
Australia and Brazil have been the most vocal critics of Joko’s decision to
carry out the executions.
A senior
lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has
criticized the UN chief for pleading with Joko not to execute the nine drug
convicts on death row, implicitly accusing Ban of being a Western stooge.
“The death
sentence is a positive law that applies in Indonesia and the judges’ verdict is
legal,” said Tubagus Hasanuddin, a member of the House of Representatives’
Commission I, overseeing international affairs.
“Ban
Ki-moon’s stance has proven that the United Nations can easily be influenced by
big countries like Australia and France.”
Tubagus
said Ban’s statement, made through his spokesman last week, has undermined the
UN’s authority.
“Capital
punishment is still being used in many countries, like in the Middle East,
Singapore, Malaysia and many other countries including the United States,” said
Tubagus, a retired Army general who is now a lawmaker for Joko’s PDI-P.
“Why hasn’t
Ban made a fuss about that, too? Is he upset because Jokowi criticized him at
the Asian-African Conference?” he said, referring to the president’s statement
calling for UN reform over its failure to eradicate global economic inequality.
Home
Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, another PDI-P stalwart, has also said that
Ban’s request would not change Indonesia’s stance on capital punishment.
“Even if
there are a thousand UN secretary generals [making such a request], President
Jokowi will still hold on to the court’s ruling,” Tjahjo said.
“The
verdict was made by the judges, it is legally binding and has to be carried
out.”
Michael Chan, the brother of death row inmate Australian Andrew Chan, is at the dock crossings of Wijaya Pura, Cilacap, Central Java, on April 28, 2015. (Antara Photo/Idhad Zakaria) |
Last-minute
moves
A
Yogyakarta court earlier on Tuesday was said to have rejected the second appeal
that Veloso had filed.
“The
rejection for the second appeal filed by Veloso is based on the law that
stipulates there will be no second appeal if the first one has been rejected,”
Sleman District Court spokesman, Marliyus, told state-run news agency Antara.
The appeal
was rejected only a few hours after it had been submitted by Veloso’s lawyer on
Monday afternoon.
But Anies
Hidayah of the Migrant Care said that with the surrender of Veloso’s recruiter
it was clear that she was just a victim of human trafficking.
“We have
conveyed it to President Jokowi, and I think this is a chance for her to escape
execution,” she said after meeting with Joko.
Australian
national Chan got married in prison on Monday, ahead of his execution,
according to a media report.
Chan, a
ringleader of the so-called “Bali Nine” gang, married his Indonesian girlfriend
Febiyanti Herewila in the maximum-security prison on Nusakambangan island.
“They just
got married. They held a simple wedding in the prison,” Chan’s brother, Michael
Chan, told news portal Detik.com.
Michael
said his brother had decided to hold a simple wedding because he knew he didn’t
have much time left. “The time is limited and they knew there would be an
execution on Tuesday. That’s why they decided to get married today,” the
brother said on Monday.
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