NOTE----
postings to this listserve will resume on August 14
INDONESIA:
Indonesia will not abolish death penalty, Wiranto says
Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto has
stressed that the government would not consider abolishing the death penalty,
and therefore there was no need to evaluate prevailing laws.
"This is our law. Despite some pressures on us, we have our national legal
jurisdiction," Wiranto said on Tuesday.
The death penalty is a harsh punishment, he said, but it is needed to protect
many people from the dangers of narcotics and related crimes.
Wiranto's statement ran directly against that of Cabinet Secretary Pramono
Anung, who said that the government and House of Representatives planned to
evaluate the death penalty.
Human rights groups and the international community have long urged the
government to abolish or adopt a moratorium on the death penalty, saying that
it is a cruel and inhumane punishment, which has also failed to create a
deterrent effect.
Indonesia executed 4 drug convicts in the early hours of last Friday, with
further legal processes sparing the lives of 10 other death-row convicts who
were slated to be killed.
(source: The Jakarta Post)
******************
What it was like waiting for death----Merry Utami, 1 of the drug convicts
spared from execution, narrates her experience to her lawyer and a human rights
activist
She had already accepted her fate.
On Thursday, July 28, Merry Utami, an Indonesian on death row, sat in her
isolation cell, ready to die. Later than evening, at 12:45am on Friday, 4
convicts were executed via firing squad.
The signs were all there.
She was transferred to Nusakambangan execution island from Tangerang prison on
Saturday, July 23 - the same day she was told her final appeal had been
rejected. The move to the island meant looming death.
Merry, 42, had lived in Tangerang since she was imprisoned in 2004, after she
was arrested in Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta the year prior,
for having 1.1kg in her bag.
No female convicts are detained in Nusakambangan. In the past, transfers of
female convicts to the island meant they were going to be executed in the
coming days.
Then, her priest visited her on the island, to prepare her spiritually and
emotionally for death. It was agreed that it would be her priest who would
identify her body post-execution.
And finally, visits from her family. Merry's daughter, accompanied by her 2
young children - a 3-year-old and a 3-month-old - came to visit Merry on the
island, off the coast of Cilacap.
To see her grandchildren was Merry's final request.
Merry knew she was next to be executed, but the government had been mum about
details. Because embassies of foreign convicts are usually informed 72 hours
before the death penalty is carried out, and because some embassies found out
about their nationals on death row on Tuesday, many believed the executions
would take place Saturday midnight.
But by Thursday, the unusual amount of activity on Cilacap port ??? the closest
entry point to Nusakambangan island, carried an air of foreboding.
Coffins were seen being transported into the island. The ambulances that carry
the corpses after execution drove through. Spiritual advisers came and went.
And the most telling, the firing squad arrived.
On the list to be convicted were 14 alleged drug convicts - 10 foreigners and 4
Indonesians. Of the 10, 1 each from Pakistan, India, Senegal and Zimbabwe, and
6 from Nigeria. Merry was the only woman.
Desperate to live
Merry so desperately wanted to live that on Saturday, when she was moved to the
execution island, she made a sudden decision to change her lawyer.
According to Yuni Asriyanti of women's rights group Komnas Perempuan, her
former lawyer was a wealthy, pro-bono lawyer whom Merry was shy to approach,
feeling she owed him something. In a last minute attempt to save her life,
Merry decided to seek the legal help of the Legal Aid Institute, which has
represented past death row convicts.
The organization soon publicized Merry's case and shared her story - a domestic
worker and an unknowing drug mule, who they said was duped into trafficking
drugs by a Canadian man who had gifted her with the handbag where the heroin
was found.
Yuni said that Merry, who is usually "cheerful, happy and relaxed" was "down
and confused" on Monday, when it had sunken in that she was going to die.
But Merry still held on to hope she would be spared.
In a letter dated Tuesday, July 26, and addressed to Indonesian President Joko
"Jokowi" Widodo, Merry asks for "mercy and leniency from you to lessen my
sentence."
While Merry maintains her innocence, it is necessary to admit to wrongdoing
when asking for clemency.
"With utmost respect, I, Merry Utami, beg your forgiveness for what I have done
to this country... I hope Mr. Jokowi, with mercy, you can forgive all I have
done," she wrote.
The letter, said Yuni, was suggested by her daughter.
Waiting for death
On the daughter's final visit on Thursday, hours before she was scheduled to be
executed, Yuni said Merry's daughter described her mother as "better and
stronger," and "more at peace," having "accepted" her fate.
Arinta Dea, Merry's lawyer, said on that day, Merry "prayed for 20 hours
straight."
And then night fell and the thunderstorms came. As it grew dark, the hour of
execution loomed closer.
All 14 were in their individual isolation cells when the process began.
"She (Merry) heard the sound of the doors open. Then one by one, the inmates
were taken to be executed," Arinta told Rappler, as narrated to her by Merry.
"The first convict who was taken to be executed was Freddi (Budiman). She knew
because Freddi passed her isolation room. While for the other 3 convicts, she
only heard the sound of the doors open."
Merry was already dressed in the clothing given to her - clean, white clothing,
so they could write a black mark right above her heart. Shooting target for the
firing squad.
"She said she was ready and accepted that she will die."
'She thanked God a thousand times'
In the end, only 4 of the 14 who were scheduled to be executed, ultimately
faced the firing squad.
Indonesian drug lord Budiman, Nigerians Michael Titus Igweh and Humphrey
Jefferson, and Senegalese Seck Osmane were executed at 12:45 am.
Merry and the other inmates waited for their turn, knowing 4 had already been
taken to be killed.
They waited in their isolation cells, awaiting their own deaths, awaiting the
walk to the execution pole where they would be tied, blindfolded, and shot by
the firing squad.
After about 6 hours of waiting, at around 6am, Merry recalled to Arinta that
"suddenly all the doors were opened."
"They came out and hugged each other. Then the prosecutors told them they were
not going to be executed," Arinta said.
What ensued was sheer relief and celebration.
"She was very happy. Just like the other inmates. They laughed and told each
other how they felt. She thanked God a thousand times."
6-hour wait
If Merry's narration is accurate, this would mean officials did not tell the
convicts themselves that they were spared - until 4 hours after the rest of the
world knew.
At about 2am, officials held a press conference and told media that only 4 were
executed and the 10 would be spared.
But the 10 themselves did not know until the sun rose from the sky.
"Waiting like that, wondering when will it will be your turn is already a
punishment," Arinta said.
Yuni and Arinta, along with Merry's daughter, were among a small group who
visited Merry in Cilacap prison where she was moved on Friday at 10:30am, hours
after she was spared from execution.
This is when Merry narrated her experience.
"She is great and cheerful," Yuni said, when describing Merry's disposition
after she was spared.
Merry's daughter was also overjoyed upon seeing her mother, giving her a hug
and a kiss.
But Arinta said they will not rest until Merry is freed.
(source: rappler.com)
IRAN----executions
At Least 10 Sunni Prisoners Were Hanged Tuesday Morning
At least 10 Sunni prisoners were executed at Rajai Shahr Prion of Karaj (west
of Tehran) early morning on Tuesday August 2. Among these prisoners is Shahram
Ahmadi, who was sentenced to death in an unfair trial that lasted only a few
minutes. Other prisoners who were executed this morning include Khaled Maleki,
Mokhtar Rahimi, Bahman Rahimi, Kaveh Veisi, and Kaveh Sharifi.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns the execution of the Sunni prisoners
and calls for international condemnation of these executions. "Many if not all
of these prisoners were subjected to unfair trials and sentenced to death based
on confessions extracted under torture. Their execution is a crime, and Iran's
Supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the Islamic Republic must be
held accountable for these crimes," says Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the
spokesperson for Iran Human Rights.
In an unusual move, on Monday August 31, the ward where the men were being held
was raided by special guards in black gear and the prisoners were placed under
strict security measures. According to close sources, the Iranian forces
handcuffed and shackled the feet of around 30 Sunni minority prisoners and
transferred them to an unknown location.
A confirmed source tells Iran Human Rights: "They took a total of 36 people out
from Hall 10, and 7 of them have only been sentenced to death in the lower
court and their cases are still in review at the Supreme Court."
According to close sources, the family members of several of the prisoners were
informed by Iranian authorities to come in for their final visit on Tuesday
August 2 at 3pm Tehran time. "More than 20 families were informed to visit
Rajai Shahr Prison, and we're currently on our way there," the wife of 1 of the
prisoners tells Iran Human Rights. She insists her husband is innocent and
deserves a fair and open trial. While the families were on their way to the
prison, they reportedly received phone calls from unidentified sources telling
them to meet at "Behesht e Zahra" cemetery instead for the funeral of their
family members.
Some unconfirmed reports say that up to 21 prisoners may have been executed
this morning. IHR is investigating further details about these reports.
(source: Iran Human Rights)
*********************
Maryam Rajavi: Mass execution of Sunni prisoners is a crime against humanity
and its perpetrators must be brought to justice
Maryam Rajavi called the execution of a large number of Sunni prisoners in
Gohardasht Prison, "an appalling crime against humanity." The Iranian
Resistance's President-elect extended her sincere condolences to the families
of the victims, the Sunni community and all the people of Iran. She called on
Iranian youths to stage protests against such barbaric crimes and to rise up in
support of and in solidarity with the families of the victims.
She also urged Shiite and Sunni clergies around the world to not remain silent
vis-a-vis this major atrocity and denounce Ali Khamenei, the great enemy of the
people of Iran and the region, for his anti-human and anti-Islamic crimes.
Maryam Rajavi added: The mullahs' anti-human regime carried out the mass
execution of our Sunni brothers on the anniversary of the 1988 massacre of
30,000 political prisoners in Iran. They are trying in vain to contain the
volatile social atmosphere and popular protests by terrorizing the public.
The NCRI President-elect pointed out: The 1988 massacre of political prisoners
in Iran is the biggest crime of its kind since World War II. The clerical
regime's crimes systematically committed over the past 37 years are all
examples of crime against humanity, war crimes or genocide. And how the
international community reacts to these crimes is its great test.
The time has come for the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council
to end their silence and bring the record of the Iranian regime's crimes before
the International Criminal Court. Ali Khamenei and other leaders of the regime
as well as direct perpetrators of these crimes must be brought to justice,
Maryam Rajavi reiterated.
A large number of Sunni prisoners were hanged Tuesday morning, Tuesday, August
2, 2016, at Gohardasht Prison, in Karaj. According to the victims' families, at
least 20 have been executed. Prison authorities declared a state of emergency,
disconnected all telephone booths and prevented prisoners from referring to the
prison's dispensary.
The regime's Judiciary had told the families of prisoners that they had time
until 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon to go to prison for a final visit with their
children. However, before they arrived, the Ministry of Intelligence contacted
the families and said they should go to the Coroner's of Kahrizak to receive
the bodies of their children.
Shahram Ahmadi is among the Sunni prisoners executed. He was wounded in April
2009 at the time of arrest by Intelligence agents and lost 1 kidney and part of
his intestine. He was badly tortured for 43 months in solitary confinement in
the Intelligence Department's detention center in Sanandaj, as a result of
which he contracted various illnesses and lost his hearing to a large extent.
In October 2012, the mullahs' Judiciary sentenced him to death on the alleged
charge of Moharebeh, or waging war on God. His younger brother, Bahram Ahmadi
who was under 18 years old at the time of arrest, was executed in Ghezel Hessar
Prison in January 2012 along with 5 other Sunni political prisoners.
(source: Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran)
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