April 27
INDONESIA:
Bali 9: decade of turmoil for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran nears a gruesome
end ---- The youthful drug smugglers who quietly reformed themselves while
Indonesia's legal, political and diplomatic currents swirled around them now
face imminent death
The legal challenges have been exhausted, the pleas for mercy ignored. On
Saturday, in line with the macabre bureaucracy, Andrew Chan and Myuran
Sukumaran were granted 72 hours' notice, after which - barring an unlikely
reprieve - they will be tied to a pole on the jungle island of Nusa Kambangan
and shot dead.
Neither appeared in those first videos from Denpasar airport, of the young men
stripped to their underwear, eyes wide with horror, as Indonesian police peeled
sheets of tape and straps from their stomachs and thighs.
Chan was arrested later that day aboard a flight bound for Australia, carrying
no drugs, just mobile phones. The police found Sukumaran in a Kuta beach hotel
room with 350g of heroin and 3 accomplices. It was 17 April 2005, and the group
- quickly dubbed the Bali 9 - had been under surveillance for a week, after a
tip-off.
Sensational media reporting fuelled tough public judgments. Chan was the
"godfather" of the operation. Sukumaran, a hulking "martial arts expert", was
the enforcer. What little sympathy the public could muster was saved for the
drug couriers they had recruited, such as 19-year-old Scott Rush.
A wayward kid from Sydney, Rush had told his parents he was camping up the
coast. But messages on his family's answering machine indicated he had bought a
ticket to Bali. His father, Lee, grew worried. "Scott never had a passport. He
certainly didn't have the finances to be able to participate in such a trip,"
he later told the ABC.
Through a lawyer, Robert Myers, Rush contacted the Australian federal police.
Myers warned that Scott could soon make a trip to Bali, that he feared the
young man was being paid to smuggle drugs. Speaking to the ABC, Lee Rush swore
the police had assured them: "Scott would be spoken to and asked not to board
the flight."
In court and in subsequent inquiries, police have denied any such assurance was
made. "The AFP ... had no lawful authority to stop Scott Rush," Mike Phelan,
then the AFP's international network manager, has insisted.
The tip was passed to the Indonesian drug squad. Rush was among the first
arrested in Denpasar airport. He later said an Australian officer was present
at the scene, that he made a phone call, saying, "We've got 'em."
Easily cast as villains
The trials opened in October 2005. All but Chan and Sukumaran pleaded guilty.
Evasive, unrepentant, absurdly insisting their innocence, the pair were easily
cast as villains.
In truth, the "godfather" Chan was a 22-year-old still living with his parents
in western Sydney, a drug user working a dead-end job. A reputed drug kingpin,
he drove a 1991 Hyundai coupe.
Sukumaran, also living with his parents in Sydney, had turned 24 the day of his
arrest. He had wanted to escape his job in a mailroom, maybe use his cut of the
deal to buy a car, or start a business. "You see all these people in night
clubs with nice BMWs, and nice Mercedes, and there's always chicks there," he
reflected later. "And you think, fuck, how do you do this on a mailroom
salary?"
In February 2006 the 7 couriers were each sentenced to life in prison. The
court found no evidence to back claims by some that they had been forced to
carry the drugs after threats by Chan and Sukumaran to harm their families.
For the duo, who were found to have supplied cash and booked flights and hotel
rooms, it was death by firing squad. Anti-drug demonstrators outside the court
reportedly cheered at the verdict.
Little outcry was heard in Australia. "No sympathy", trumpeted the front page
of Sydney's Daily Telegraph the day of the sentence. "Their drug operation
would have destroyed thousands of lives - now they'll pay with theirs."
Years of legal challenges followed. Renae Lawrence, the sole woman in the gang,
had her sentence reduced to 20 years. Appeals by 4 couriers, including Rush, to
the Indonesian supreme court returned a staggering outcome: their sentences
were upgraded to death.
Though they would be scaled back to life within 5 years, the sentences revealed
the strength of resentment in Indonesia towards drug crimes, particularly those
committed by foreigners. Few were surprised, then, when 2 appeals to spare Chan
and Sukumaran's lives in 2006 foundered.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, a group of activists and lawyers fiercely opposed to
the death penalty coalesced around the men's case. In Kerobokan, Sukumaran
picked up a paintbrush and Chan began to attend Christian services.
There were shoots of hope in Indonesia. The president, Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, had overseen only a handful of executions, including those of the
Bali bombers in 2008, and campaigned hard against the 2012 beheading of an
Indonesian maid in Saudi Arabia. From 2009 he instituted a virtual moratorium,
carrying out no killings for 4 years.
By the time Chan and Sukumaran gave their 1st in-depth media interview, to SBS
in 2010, they were noticeably changed men. Gone were the hard expressions, the
denials. "More or less for me it was just a quick payday," Chan admitted. What
impact the 8.3kg of heroin might have on the users and their families had never
crossed his mind.
He had become a committed Christian and, though he declined to speak effusively
about his faith, he now spent much of his day in prayer or religious study, and
led mass for other prisoners.
Sukumaran had poured himself into running English and computer lessons in the
prison, which he funded by selling his and other prisoners' art. The reputed
muscle of the operation was soft-spoken and had a wry sense of humour,
designing souvenir T-shirts branded "Kingpin", a wink at his portrayal in the
press.
Remarkably, at a 2010 judicial review into their death sentences, the governor
of Kerobokan prison, Bapak Siswanto, appeared, testifying to the men's
character and positive influence on other prisoners. "Instinctively my spirit
says, can't he be pardoned?" he told judges. "Can't state officials show
mercy?"
Yet again the challenge failed. 2 years later, in May 2012, the volunteer legal
team led by Julian McMahon took their last chance, appealing directly to
Yudhoyono for clemency.
The papers lingered on the presidential desk along with several other appeals.
Executing drug traffickers is hugely popular among Indonesians. Yudhoyono could
quietly keep Chan, Sukumaran and some of the estimated 62 other drug offenders
on death row alive, but no more.
'No forgiveness'
On 9 July 2014, Joko Widodo, a wiry Javanese former furniture salesman, was
elected Indonesia's 7th president. Hopeful international observers dubbed him
"Indonesia's Obama", the headbanging, cleanskin governor of Jakarta, whose
ascension might signal a new chapter in the archipelago's politics. Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono Joko Widodo
Events this year moved quickly. On 7 January, Sukumaran was informed his bid
for clemency had been denied. Chan received the same notice a fortnight later.
Reports by Fairfax Media suggested Widodo had little knowledge of the men's
case, only a list of names on a sheet.
The initial public response by the Australian government was careful. "We
obviously respect the legal systems of other countries," the prime minister,
Tony Abbott, said. "But where there is an attempt to impose the death penalty
on an Australian, we make the strongest possible diplomatic representations."
On 18 January, Indonesia killed 6 prisoners. Brazil and the Netherlands, whose
citizens were among the dead, withdrew their ambassadors in response. Clearing
Indonesia's death row of drug criminals - as Widodo has said he intends - would
necessarily mean killing foreigners. Estimates suggest about 41 are still
condemned to die for drug offences.
Meanwhile, activists in Australia involved in the Mercy Campaign rallied
support for Chan and Sukumaran. A snap concert was held in Sydney???s Martin
Place. Signatures on a petition pleading with Widodo to show mercy swelled:
first to 65,000, then 150,000, now to 250,000.
February brought grim details of how the men's lives could end. Ten prisoners
taken to a clearing, tied to poles, offered a blindfold. Firing squads of 12
executioners are be assigned to each. 3 will have live ammunition, the rest
blanks. On 7 February the Indonesian foreign ministry announced Chan and
Sukumaran would be dead by the end of the month.
The calls to spare the men by Abbott and the foreign minister, Julie Bishop,
grew more strident. Perhaps unwisely, on 18 February, the prime minister
invoked Australia's generous aid to Indonesia after the devastating 2004
tsunami. Indignant Indonesians left coins outside the Australian embassy in
Jakarta as "payback". A flurry of legal challenges continued throughout
February, including a request for a 2nd judicial review - known as a Peninjauan
Kembali, or PK - based on evidence of the pair's rehabilitation. All were
rejected, the latest one on 6 April.
Chan and Sukumaran survived the month, but on 3 March, shackled, escorted by
soldiers, the pair were moved to Nusa Kambangan, a prison island off the
Javanese coast. The Australian government lodged an official complaint at the
ostentatious display of force.
2 days later, in Sydney, in his 1st public address, the new commissioner of the
AFP faced a barrage of old questions. Like his predecessors, Andrew Colvin
tersely insisted the force would not have Chan and Sukumaran's "blood on its
hands".
What had felt like a plummet suddenly jerked still on 6 March. The Indonesian
attorney general, Muhammad Prasetyo, announced a temporary halt to the process,
to allow some of the nine condemned men and 1 woman, Mary Jane Veloso from the
Philippines, to exhaust their appeals.
Last week, she too was moved to Nusa Kambangan, and all 10 prisoners were in
place. Late on Saturday, Chan and Sukumaran were informed the official 72-hour
countdown - after which they could be executed at any time - had commenced.
Their indefatigable lawyers have lodged another challenge with Indonesia's
supreme court. But Widodo is unmoved. The notice period ends late on Tuesday.
*****************************
Diplomatic effort intensifies for Australians and other foreigners due to face
firing squad ---- Along with 1 Indonesian, 2 Australians, 4 Nigerians, a
Brazilian and a Philippines citizen could be shot as early as midnight on
Tuesday local time
Last-ditch diplomatic efforts to spare some of the 8 foreign nationals
scheduled to face a firing squad in Indonesia for drug offences have
intensified as the end of a 72-hour notice period looms.
Along with Indonesian Zainul Abidin, 4 Nigerians, 2 Australians, a Brazilian
and a Philippines citizen could be shot as early as midnight on Tuesday local
time.
The condemned include Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, for their
part in the plot to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin from Bali in 2005. Amnesty
International has made a direct plea to Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president,
asking him to grant clemency to the nine drug offenders.
In a letter signed by 13 directors of the group from around the world, they
acknowledge Indonesia's need to punish and deter criminal acts, but argue that
there is no evidence the death penalty is effective.
Hopes were raised that 30-year-old Filipina Mary Jane Veloso could be spared
following lobbying on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur by the
Philippines president Benigno Aquino.
Veloso was visited by her 2 sons, aged 6 and 12.
"She tried to explain again," Veloso's elder sister Marites Veloso-Laurente
told AFP. "If Mumma does not go home, just think Mumma is in heaven."
A statement on Monday from Widodo indicated he was sympathetic to her case and
would consult with the country's attorney general before "resum[ing] the
conversation" with Aquino. The attorney general however said the execution
would go ahead, Reuters reported.
Veloso's supporters, who have held rallies in Manila, claim the single mother
was unaware her suitcase contained about 2.6kg of heroin when she flew into
Yogyakarta in 2010. Philippines boxer and lawmaker Manny Pacquiao joined the
calls to show Veloso clemency on Sunday.
"I am begging and knocking at your kind heart that your excellency grant
executive clemency to her by sparing her life and saving her from execution,"
Pacquiao said in an appeal to Widodo.
Relations between Jakarta and Canberra have frayed over plans to execute Chan
and Sukumaran. The Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has been trying to
speak with Widodo by phone for seven weeks, and wrote a letter to the
Indonesian leader at the weekend, appealing for mercy.
"This is not in the best interests of Indonesia, let alone in the interests of
the young Australians concerned," he said on Monday.
Widodo brushed aside a last-minute plea for a stay of execution of the two
Australians, saying reports that their trial had been tainted by corruption
needed to be investigated. Such concerns should have been raised years ago when
the case went through the courts years ago, he said.
Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, warned on Monday that carrying
out the mass execution would "harm Indonesia's international standing".
Protesters massed outside the Indonesian consulate in Sydney on Monday evening.
The former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yuhyohono has cancelled an
address to the University of Western Australia that was scheduled for Friday,
citing "sensitive timing".
Controversy also surrounds the Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte, whose lawyers claim
suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, joined the chorus of opposition to the
executions on Sunday, asking that Widodo "urgently consider declaring a
moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition".
Serge Atlaoui of France won a temporary reprieve at the weekend after officials
agreed to wait until his legal challenges have been exhausted. The French
president, Francois Hollande, had warned of severe "consequences with France
and Europe" if the Frenchman were killed.
The Indonesian president has otherwise refused to be swayed by the
international pressure, pledging to clear the country's death row of drug
offenders as part of a crackdown on the "national emergency" of narcotics.
Official figures are unreliable, but it is estimated around 41 foreigners are
currently on death row in Indonesia for drug crimes.
6 people, including 5 foreigners, were shot in the first round of executions on
18 January, among them a Dutch and Brazilian citizen. Both countries pulled
their ambassadors from Indonesia in retaliation. Brazil has also refused to
accept the credentials of the new Indonesian ambassador.
It was revealed on Monday that the king of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander,
had personally appealed to Widodo to spare the Dutchman, 52-year-old Ang Kiem
Soe.
(source for both: The Guardian)
***************************
Veloso's 2nd PK rejected
The Sleman District Court (PN) on Monday rejected a second appeal for a case
review (PK) submitted by Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, a death row inmate from the
Philippines.
"PN Sleman has declared that Mary Jane's 2nd PK request is rejected," the
court's spokesperson, Marliyus, told journalists on Monday.
Agus Salim, a member of Veloso's legal team, submitted the 2nd PK request with
the PN Sleman on Monday morning. After a string of discussions, PN Sleman head
Rochmad decided that Veloso's 2nd PK request could not be accepted.
"This is based on Supreme Court (MA) Circular No.7/2014 on the PK submission
procedure for criminal cases, which stipulates that a PK request can be
submitted only once," said Marliyus.
Agus confirmed that the PN Sleman had rejected Veloso's 2nd PK request. With
the rejection, Veloso will likely face a firing squad early on Tuesday.
Agus said that in the 2nd PK request, Veloso, via her lawyer, presented a new
finding, or novum, obtained from an investigation conducted by a national drug
agency in the Philippines. "Results of the investigation reveal that Mary Jane
is not a courier in the international drug trade. This finding has been
confirmed by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN)," said Agus.
He asserted that Veloso was not aware at all that a suitcase she brought from
Malaysia to Yogyakarta contained 2.6 kilograms of heroin. "It seems that the
judicial panel did not want to include the novum in their considerations," said
Agus.
He said during Veloso's trial the identities of the heroin's supplier and
seller and its cost had never been revealed.
"The death sentence for Mary Jane is too much. Initially, prosecutors sought
only a life sentence for her, but the judicial panel decided to sentence her
with the death penalty," said Agus.
************************
The 10 death-row inmates and their stories
6 months into the administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, a 2nd group
of death-row inmates found guilty of smuggling narcotics is slated for
execution probably as early as Tuesday. The 1st round was carried out on Jan.
18, during which 6 inmates from Indonesia, the Netherlands, Brazil, Nigeria,
Vietnam and Malawi were killed by firing squad.
The upcoming executions will be the 1st time since the reform movement of 1998
that police's Mobile Brigade (Brimob) personnel will have to pull the trigger
on 10 inmates at the same time on the prison island of Nusakambangan in Central
Java.
Here are the stories of how drugs led 10 individuals, originating from 5
different continents, into the abyss in Indonesia.
Amid the widespread pleas for clemency for foreign citizens listed in the
upcoming executions, defense and support for Zainal, 50, has gone largely
unheard. No street marches or viral campaigns in social media have been held
for him. On 21 Dec. 2000, Zainal was arrested at his residence in Palembang,
South Sumatra, for the possession of 58.7 kilograms of marijuana, the
possession and consumption of which has been declared legal in several
developed countries.
He now faces the supreme punishment amid recent scientific studies and implicit
acknowledgment by US President Barrack Obama indicating that marijuana has
health benefits, when used in a controlled manner.
Zainal was initially given a 15-year prison term on drug trafficking charges
but had his sentence increased to the death penalty after the Palembang
Administrative Court filed an appeal in 2001. This sentence was confirmed by a
Supreme Court cassation the following year.
President Jokowi has shown no mercy having rejected Zainal's appeal for
clemency earlier in the year. He had filed for a judicial review of the case in
2005 but it was only picked up recently, with the Attorney General's Office
(AGO) currently awaiting a response from the Supreme Court on whether or not to
go ahead with the execution. The AGO is expected to hear from the court on
Monday.
Although he is still awaiting the Supreme Court's decision, Zainal was recently
transferred from the Pasir Putih Prison in Nusakamba-ngan to an isolation cell
in Besi Prison in the same complex.
Zainal received notification of his impending execution on Saturday, and is
expecting his family to visit and pray together on Monday morning.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, AustralianAndrew Chan, 31, and 34-year-old
Myuran Sukumaran were apprehended by customs authorities along with 7 other
Australians on April 17, 2005, at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung,
Bali, for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg of heroin out of the country into
Australia.
Identified as ring leaders of the so-called Bali 9, Chan and Sukumaran were
both sentenced to death on Feb. 14, 2006, while the rest of the group - Si Yi
Chen, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrence, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman,
Scott Rush and Martin Stephens - either received 20 years in prison or life
sentences.
The 2 were detained in Kerobokan Prison and went through several rehabilitation
programs involving art and computer workshops, cooking classes and tennis
lessons. In 2010, Chan and Sukumaran filed an appeal against their sentences.
Both appeals were rejected in July and June, respectively, of the following
year. At the end of last year, the President rejected Sukumaran???s plea for
clemency, while Chan's appeal was rejected on Jan. 22.
The pair lost another chance to avoid the death penalty in a 2nd case review
after they were both rejected by the Denpasar District Court in February.
Serge Areski Atlaoui, French
Atlaoui, 51, was arrested after officials broke up a secret facility for
producing ecstasy in Cikande, Tangerang, Banten, on Nov. 11, 2005. He was found
guilty of possessing 138 kg of crystal meth, 290 kg of ketamine and 316 drums
of precursor substances. He was sentenced to death 2 years later.
Imprisoned on Nusakamba-ngan prison island since 2007, the father-of-4 has
always denied the charges, saying he was installing industrial machinery in
what he thought was an acrylics factory. As many as 12 other people were
involved in the same case as Atlaoui, 9 of whom received the death penalty at
the Supreme Court.
Atlaoui's appeal for clemency was rejected by Jokowi late in 2014, prompting
him to lodge a case review with the Supreme Court for the 1st time since he was
detained.
The court rejected the review last week. A panel of judges stated in their
ruling that Atlaoui had "been found guilty of distributing, transferring and
brokering drug transactions with evidence including pure heroin".
Atlaoui was granted a temporary reprieve a few days ago, with the AGO claiming
that there was an outstanding legal complaint in his case.
Rodrigo Gularte, Brazilian
On July 31, 2004, Gularte, 42, was arrested by the authorities at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. The Brazilian was
caught smuggling 19 kg of heroin encased in his surfboard and was found guilty
at Tangerang District Court on Feb. 7, 2005. He never lodged an appeal to a
higher court. His plea for clemency was rejected by Jokowi on Jan. 5.Gularte's
case garnered much attention from rights activists due to the fact that he has
been diagnosed with a mental illness on several occasions. Because of his
illness, NGOs and civil society groups have maintained that Gularte was unfit
for trial and have demanded a reprieve.
According to a medical examination report from the Cilacap general hospital
dated Feb. 11, 2015, Gularte was confirmed as suffering from schizophrenia.
Another report - a medical certificate signed by neurologist Erasto Cichon in
2004 - stated that Gularte had been suffering from cerebral dysrhythmia since
1982, causing him to commit involuntary acts.
Attorney General M. Prasetyo, however, has insisted that death row convicts
suffering from mental conditions must still be executed as there are currently
no specific regulations exempting them from death.
Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Nigerian
Nwolise, 47, otherwise known as Mustofa, was caught by the National Police's
narcotics directorate in 2003 for attempting to smuggle 1.2 kg of heroin into
the country. He was found guilty by Tangerang District Court and was sentenced
to death a year later.
Nwolise's plea for clemency was rejected by Jokowi earlier this year.Even after
he was detained, he was repeatedly questioned by the National Narcotics Agency
(BNN) for continuing to operate a drug ring from within the confines of prison.
On Nov. 27, 2012 he was found to have dealt drugs while in detention in Batu
prison on Nusakambangan Island. A year later, he was found to be dealing again
in Pasir Putih prison in the same prison complex.
He was returned from police custody to the Nusakambangan authorities on Feb. 26
and placed once more in Batu prison, but in an isolation cell.
Mary Jane Veloso, Filipino Veloso, 30, who used to work as a housemaid in the
Philippines, was arrested with 2.6 kg of heroin at Adisucipto International
airport in Yogyakarta on April 25, 2010. Sleman District Court sentenced her to
death on Oct. 11, 2010.
She challenged the verdict at the Yogyakarta High Court but to no avail after
the court rejected her appeal on Dec. 23, 2010.
The Supreme Court confirmed her sentence on May 31, 2011.
Jokowi rejected clemency for the mother-of-2 last December. On March 16, the
Supreme Court rejected her 1st case review.
Martin Anderson, Ghanaian
Anderson, 50, was caught in 2003 at his lodging in Kelapa Gading, North
Jakarta, where the authorities found him to be in possession of 50 grams of
heroin.
He was sentenced to death at his trial at the North Jakarta District Court, a
sentence upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004.
In March, Anderson lodged a case review for the 1st time since his plea for
clemency was rejected by Jokowi at the beginning of the year.
Anderson's legal team sought to reduce his sentence by referring to a previous
case, in which Nigerian death row convict Hillary K. Chimezie, who was caught
with 5.8 kg of heroin, had his sentence reduced to 12 years. Anderson's case
review was dismissed by the judges as he had already asked for clemency,
meaning that he admitted his guilt.
Okwudili Oyatanze, Nigerian
Oyatanze, 45, was apprehended by customs as he attempted to smuggle 1.15 kg of
heroin from Pakistan. He was caught at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in
Tangerang, Banten, on Jan. 28, 2001.
He had been involved in the garment business in 1999, travelling to Indonesia
to buy clothes and then reselling them in Nigeria. The business collapsed,
however, and Oyatanze became heavily indebted, forcing him to accept the job of
bringing "a product" from Pakistan to Indonesia, which he claimed to have
realized only later was heroin.
On Aug. 13 of that year, Tangerang District Court handed Oyatanze the death
penalty and this was confirmed by the Supreme Court on Aug. 28, 2002.
Oyatanze's application for judicial review was also rejected. He admitted to
his crime and pleaded for clemency, which was eventually rejected by Jokowi on
Feb. 5.
Raheem Agbaje Salami, Nigerian
Salami, 42, was arrested at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East
Java, in 1999 as he attempted to smuggle 5.2 kg of heroin. However, he claimed
that his real identity was Jamiu Owolabi Abashin. He was sentenced to life in
prison in 1999, which was reduced to 20 years on appeal. Prosecutors challenged
the sentence at the Supreme Court, which in 2006 sentenced Salami to death.
He pleaded for clemency in September 2008 only to have it rejected by Jokowi
earlier this year.
(source for both: Jakarta Post)
*************************************
Indonesia once intervened to save maid from execution in Saudi Arabia
The Indonesian government, currently under international pressure to spare 8
foreigners, including a Filipino, from the death sentence, is no stranger to
making appeals on behalf of a citizen facing execution overseas.
Last year, Indonesian officials found themselves scrambling to save the life of
Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, an Indonesian maid sentenced to death in Saudi
Arabia for killing and robbing her Saudi Arabian employer.
According to a report on CNN, Ahmad was sentenced to death in 2011 after she
reportedly admitted to killing her 70-year-old female employer and stealing
approximately $10,000, allegedly in self defense.
The same report said the execution was initially scheduled for August 2011 but
was postponed five times due to the intervention of the Indonesian government.
But in April 2014, the execution was set aside altogether, after the Indonesian
government announced that it would pay the seven million Saudi riyals ($1.8
million) asked for by the family of Ahmad's employers as blood money.
Mary Jane Veloso
Now, Indonesia is set to execute by firing squad on Tuesday eight foreigners
convicted for drug-related charges. One of them is Mary Jane Velosos, a
30-year-old mother of 2 who said she was duped into serving as a drug mule by
her recruiter.
Veloso was arrested after authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin sewn into
her suitcase at the Yogyakarta Airport in 2010. She has maintained that she did
not know that there were drugs in her luggage.
Double standard?
Indonesia's supposed double standard has been criticized by the group Human
Rights Watch (HRW.)
"The Indonesian government's pursuit of clemency for Ahmad in Saudi Arabia
while ignoring its own continued use of the death penalty is more than just
about hypocrisy on the right to life. It's an expression of recently elected
President Joko Widodo's avowed support for the death penalty as an 'important
shock therapy' for drug law violators," said an article by Phelim Kine, HRW's
deputy director.
Kine also noted the disconnect between Widodo's continued denial of clemency
for those on death row in his country and the scramble to save the life of an
Indonesian in a similar situation.
"Widodo denied [several] petitions for clemency on the basis that drug
traffickers on death row had 'destroyed the future of the nation.' [But]
international human rights law limits use of the death penalty to only 'the
most serious crimes,' typically crimes resulting in death or grievous bodily
harm," he said.
Kine also criticized Indonesia's hard line stance on implementing the death
penalty for drug-related offenses, saying the United Nations Human Rights
Committee does not recommend the execution in these cases.
"The United Nations Human Rights Committee and the UN expert on unlawful
killings have condemned using the death penalty in drug cases, and the UN high
commissioner for human rights and the director of the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime have likewise expressed grave concerns about the application of the death
penalty for drug offenses. All this makes Indonesia's application of the death
penalty for drug-related convictions particularly odious," he said.
(source: GMA News)
***************************
Hikmahanto: Show Strength by Ignoring Death Penalty Outcry
For the sake of proving that nobody can interfere with Indonesian sovereignty,
the government should ignore the growing global outcry and push ahead with the
execution of drug convicts on death row, an outspoken international law
professor from the nation's top university said on Monday.
Hikmahanto Juwana said Indonesia is currently in the spotlight, after hosting
the 60th commemoration of the Asian-African Conference, and has to show that it
is not only willing to talk the talk, but also to walk the walk.
"The principle of non-intervention in Asian and African countries as outlined
in the Dasa Sila [results of the first Bandung Conference in 1955] is still
relevant today, including when Indonesia carries out the death penalty,"
Hikmahanto said in a press release, adding that if the government bows out now,
the nation will become a global laughing stock.
Indonesia is set to execute 9 people, possibly as soon as Tuesday, for drug
offenses. 8 out of 9 are foreign nationals. A 10th convict, Frenchman Serge
Atlaoui, has been granted a temporary reprieve due to an outstanding legal
matter.
Just for show
Besides opposition to the death penalty in principle, the international
criticism generally centers on alleged irregularities in the Indonesian justice
system.
France has been among the harshest critics of the pending killings, with its
foreign minister speaking of "serious dysfunction" in the legal system.
The Australian government, too, has consistently raised its objection against
the execution of 2 of its nationals, 'Bali 9' ringleaders Andrew Chan and
Myuran Sukumaran.
Indonesian relations with Brazil are at a low, with the president of the
Latin-American powerhouse refusing to accept the credentials of a new
Indonesian ambassador. Brazilian national Marco Archer was executed for drug
offenses in January and another Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte - diagnosed with a
mental illness - is set to face the firing squad this week.
But according to Hikmahanto, a professor at the University of Indonesia (UI),
the governments of France and Australia are merely protesting because their
voters expect them to, and that everything will be fine once the executions are
over.
"No foreign government dares to put good and mutually profitable relations at
stake to defend a national who committed a crime," Hikmahanto said.
He added that domestic political considerations also play a role in the stance
of countries like Australia and France, and that the Australians were not
nearly as outspoken against China as they have been against Indonesia.
"Late last May, China executed an Australian citizen, but Australia didn't
exert pressure [on China] like it is on Indonesia," the professor said.
Ban Ki-moon gets an earful
Hikmahanto also criticized Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United
Nations, for calling on President Joko Widodo to cancel the pending executions.
According to Hikmahanto, the UN chief had no business giving orders like a head
of state.
Ban's spokesman said in a statement on Saturday that "if the death penalty is
to be used at all, it should only be imposed for the most serious crimes,
namely those involving intentional killing, and only with appropriate
safeguards."
"Drug-related offenses generally are not considered to fall under the category
of 'most serious crimes'," the spokesman added, as reported by Reuters.
But according to Hikmahanto the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights clearly allows states to decide what qualifies as a serious crime, and
it doesn't exclude drug-related offenses.
"The Indonesian also have to right to ask why there was not statement from the
UN secretary-general recently when 2 Indonesian domestic workers were executed
in Saudi Arabia," Hikmahanto said.
Also, the international law expert said it was strange that Ban took issue with
the death penalty in Indonesia while his own country, South Korea, continues to
use it.
"When we look at Ban Ki-moon's statement, don't be surprised if President
Jokowi says the UN doesn't reflect the interests of Asian and African nations,"
Hikmahanto said. "The interests and voices represented are those of the
European nations, Australia and America. It's understandable if Jokowi
questions the universality of the UN."
Joko called for reform in a speech at the Asian-African Conference in Jakarta
last week, saying that the UN and the world's leading financial institutions
were responsible for Western-leaning imbalance of global economic and political
power.
(source: The Jakarta Globe)
*******************
Bali 9: Chan marries fiancee in final hours
Bali 9 convicted drug smuggler Andrew Chan has married his fiancee Feby
Herewila in what could be his last hours alive on death row.
Chan's brother Michael returned from Nusakambangan on Monday night and
announced the news.
"Feby and Andrew had a bit of a celebration this evening," he said.
"It was celebrated with some family and close friends. We'd just like to
celebrate that with him tomorrow as well so hopefully the president will still
show some compassion, some mercy so that these 2 young people can carry on with
their lives.
"It's in the president's hands."
Unless President Joko Widodo has a change of heart, Chan will likely face the
firing squad around midnight on Tuesday (0300 Wednesday AEST), alongside Myuran
Sukumaran.
Chan and Sukumaran, who were arrested for attempting to smuggle drugs out of
Indonesia, are spending what could be the last several hours of their lives
with their families, as the clock ticks towards their impending deaths.
Late on Monday, Indonesia's Constitutional Court agreed to consider a
last-ditch legal challenge to the country's clemency laws on May 12.
However, the court ruling won't affect the executions of the pair, unless Mr
Widodo or Attorney-General HM Prasetyo step in.
On Saturday, the Bali Nine ringleaders received formal notification from
Indonesian authorities that they will soon be shot for trying to export more
than 8 kilograms of heroin to Australia.
But Foreign Minister Julie Bishop gave a strongly-worded press conference on
Monday over the imminent execution of the duo, saying she is "very
disappointed" in the Indonesian government.
Ms Bishop said her representations to Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi had
been ignored, including that the men not be given notice of their execution on
Anzac Day.
"I am profoundly dismayed that the Indonesian authorities have given Mr Chan
and Mr Sukumaran 72 hours' notice of their executions," Ms Bishop said.
"We did make representations to request that they not do this on our national
day of remembrance but they proceeded."
To add to the despair, the Chan and Sukumaran families lost more than 3 hours
of precious time with their sons and brothers on Monday over bureaucratic red
tape.
They were turned away at Cilacap port followed by Australia's consul-general to
Bali, Majell Hind, and lawyer Julian McMahon, after being told the visitation
rules had changed.
They were later allowed passage to Nusakambangan for what would be their
2nd-last visit.
It is understood they have been advised to say their last goodbyes on Tuesday
afternoon.
Sukumaran's brother, Chinthu, also issued another desperate plea for President
Joko Widodo on behalf of his brother.
"I spent the last 5 hours watching young children playing with their parents,"
he said.
"I ask the president to not make orphans out of children, widows ... there are
family members just crying inside the prison, as we count down the hours, to
please step up and have mercy."
Amnesty international and Sydney Bali 9 activists held a vigil.
Vigils were held in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne on Monday night for the
convicted drug smugglers.
Candles were lit and paintings of the men were carried by about 50 supporters
outside the Indonesian consulate in Sydney.
The 2 men were arrested at Denpasar airport in April 2005 and sentenced in 2006
to execution by firing squad.
The pair have been refused clemency by Indonesian President Joko Widodo as part
of a hardline stance on the death penalty for convicted drug criminals.
'Corruption allegations'
In a further development, a former lawyer for Chan and Sukumaran told Fairfax
the judges who sentenced the pair to death were willing to give a lighter
sentence.
Bali-based Mohammad Rifan alleged the judges initially asked for a payment
$130,000 in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.
Chan and Sukumaran's Australian lawyer Peter Morrissey said the planned
executions must be postponed while the allegation of judicial corruption is
investigated.
Indonesia's Judicial Commission said it would investigate the allegations, but
said its findings would have no bearing on the pair's cases.
But on Monday afternoon Mr Widodo questioned why bribery claims around the
death sentences of Chan and Sukumaran were only being aired hours before their
executions are due.
"Things like this should have been conveyed years ago. That's my answer," Mr
Widodo said.
Mr Widodo is under pressure from governments and rights groups globally to stay
the executions of the Australians and 7 others expected after midnight on
Tuesday.
He was returning from an ASEAN meeting in Malaysia where Philippine President
Benigno Aquino sought clemency for his death row citizen Mary Jane Veloso.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott wrote to Mr Widodo at the weekend to make another
plea for clemency for the pair.
Ms Bishop has revealed Mr Abbott also spoke to Mr Widodo about the pair in
March, while attending the funeral of Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee
Kwan Yew.
(source: The New Daily)
**************************
Blanks in firing squad rifles, shot to head for sure death
Indonesia is set to execute eight foreigners convicted of drug offences,
despite international outrage and desperate appeals for mercy from relatives.
Authorities have given formal notice to the 8 - from Australia, Brazil, Nigeria
and the Philippines - that they would face a firing squad imminently. If the
executions go ahead, the 7 men and 1 woman will be led to a clearing on a
prison island to be shot by police marksmen - after authorities have placed a
black mark on their clothing to mark the heart.
Here are key questions and answers about the process:
Q: Where do the executions take place?
A: Indonesia executes death row inmates at Nusakambangan, a rugged island off
Central Java that has served as a high-security jail since Dutch colonial rule.
Those sentenced to death are eventually transferred to Nusakambangan, where
they wait until being led to a nearby clearing to face the firing squad.
Q: How much notification do prisoners receive before being shot?
A: Authorities must provide a minimum 72 hours' notice. Once this is given, the
prisoners are moved to isolation cells to wait. If they are foreigners their
governments are informed of the impending execution.
Q: What happens next?
A: 1 hour before the scheduled execution time, a team of 12 specially-trained
policemen assembles at the site.
They take position 5 to 10 metres (16 to 32 feet) from where the condemned
inmates will be positioned and lay out their rifles.
A commander loads each rifle with 1 round but only 3 of the rounds are live.
The rest are blanks, meaning it cannot be determined who fired the fatal shot.
Prisoners sentenced to death for the same crime - like the 2 Australian
ringleaders of the so-called "Bali 9" heroin-smuggling gang - must by law be
executed at the same time but by a different shooting group.
Q: How are the prisoners executed?
A: The condemned inmates are marched to the clearing, where their hands and
feet are bound and they are placed in front of individual posts. They are given
the option of sitting, kneeling or standing and can wear a blindfold if
desired.
The prisoners then have a final three minutes with a religious counsellor,
before a commander draws a black mark on the inmate's clothing over the heart.
The squad commander then raises a sword. The marksmen take aim and fire when he
swishes the blade down.
Q: Do Indonesians support the death penalty for drug use?
In a nationwide survey last month by pollster Indo Barometer, 84% of
respondents supported the death penalty for drug traffickers, while just 12 %
disagreed.
The broad public support partly explains why President Joko Widodo - who
believes Indonesia faces a drugs emergency - has been so unwavering in his
determination to put drug dealers to death.
Many in Indonesia view drug dealers as akin to terrorists, mass murderers or
rapists.
The country has some of the world's toughest anti-drugs laws and sentences for
possession of even minor quantities of narcotics can be harsh.
(source: Hindustan Times)
_______________________________________________
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Search the Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/deathpenalty@lists.washlaw.edu/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A free service of WashLaw
http://washlaw.edu
(785)670.1088
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
