After failing to carry out the planned executions of six drug traffickers due to some logistics issues last year, the Indonesian authority has now concluded plans to have it done on Sunday, January 18 2015.
According to Jakarta Post, Attorney General HM Prasetyo confirmed on Thursday that five people — four men and a woman — would face the firing squad on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, while one woman would face the firing squad in Boyolali, Central Java.
“We have prepared everything; the firing squad, clergymen and doctors. The executions will be done simultaneously, not one by one,” he said.
Those scheduled to be executed has been notified on Jan.14. Prasetyo said.
“They were told at least three days beforehand so they could mentally prepare and give their final requests,” he said, adding that families and respective embassies had also been informed.
All six convicts requested clemency, but those requests were rejected by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Dec. 30 last year. The President has vowed to show no mercy for drug convicts, as Indonesia has become a major market for global drug trafficking.
The government is not looking back, considering the daily havoc being caused by hard drugs in the country. the executions, according to Prasetyo, would demonstrate the government’s determination to crack down on drugs, adding that as many as 40 to 50 people died each day from drug use.
“The executions of the convicts will send a message to all drug rings that Indonesia is serious about fighting them. I hope that people understand we are trying to save Indonesia from the dangers of drugs,” Prasetyo said.
Prasetyo added that executions of drug convicts on death row would be prioritized and that additional executions of drug convicts would soon follow.
According to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), at least 68 people were on death row and awaiting execution for drug offenses in 2014.
The five foreigners due to be executed are from Nigeria, Malawi, Vietnam, the Netherlands and Brazil.
The Malawian was named as Namsona Denis. He is 48 years old and was convicted in 2001.
The Brazilian is Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira. The 53 year old man was convicted in 2004, same year with the Nigerian. Roni Andriani, 38 years old, is the female Indonesian listed to be executed, among the six. She was convicted in 2000.
“Indonesia’s new government took office on the back of promises to improve respect for human rights, but carrying out these executions would be a regressive move,” said Rupert Abbott, a Southeast Asia research director for Amnesty International.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the planned executions were “deeply regrettable” and urged Indonesia to establish a moratorium on the death penalty.
Indonesia resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap.