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11442
Fri, 07/04/2008 - 20:30
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News Focus: RI TO EXECUTE FIVE MORE DEATH ROW CONVICTS
By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, July 4 (ANTARA) - After carrying out the execution by firing squad of two Nigerian drug offenders last week, Indonesian public prosecutors are planning to implement the death sentences of five more convicts this month.
The plan to execute the five convicts who have been on death row for years is part of the Indonesian authorities' efforts to speed up the execution of 57 convicts, some of whom have been languishing in jail since 1994.
Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes AH Ritonga said the execution of the five death row convicts would be carried out by higher prosecutor's offices as soon as the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had served them the required notices.
"We are now about to serve notices on higher prosecutor's offices in a few regions where death row convicts are being held," Ritonga said on Wednesday.
Two Nigerians who had been on death row for dug offenses, Samuel Iwuchukwu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaolisa, were executed in Central Java last month. Okoye was sentenced to death by the Tangerang district court in Banten on July 5, 2001 for smuggling 3.8 kg of heroin into Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Nwaolisa was given the death penalty by the same court on August 13, 2001 for circulating 3.2 kg of heroin in Indonesia.
The convicts facing execution this month had all exhausted the existing legal avenues for either a judicial review of their sentences or for clemency so there were no legal reasons any more for public prosecutor's offices to delay their executions.
"The executions will be carried out in order to eliminate doubts among the public about law enforcement in Indonesia," Ritonga said as quoted by 'Republika' daily on Wednesday.
One of the five death row convicts is Dukun AS alias Ahmad Suraji, a man sentenced to death for murdering 42 women in North Sumatra in 1984-1994 - crimes he committed to enhance his 'magic' powers as a shaman.
The North Sumatra Higher Public Prosecutor's Office has started an administrative process for preparations to execute him.
Dukun AS was sentenced to death on April 27, 1997 by the Lubuk Pakan district court in Deli Serdang. His appeals in higher courts and subsquent application for clemency were all rejected.
Gortap Marbun, chief of the North Sumatra Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, said Wednesday the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had already served notice to carry out Dukun's execution.
However, the exact time for the execution had not yet been set as the office had first to complete certain administrative procedures, coordinate the execution plan with the police, court and the law and human rights ministry.
The office also still had to prepare the convict himself and his family for the execution, Marbun said.
Tubagus Maulana Yusuf is another convict on death row from Rangkasbitung, (Lebak), Banten. The Rangkasbitung district court sentenced him to death last March for murdering eight people also to increase the 'supernatural' powers he allegdly possessed. Tubagus, however, did not appeal his sentence nor did he ask for clemency.
The other death row convicts are Rio Alek Bulo, Sumiarsih and Sugeng. Rio Alek Bulo was sentenced to death for murdering noted lawyer Jeje Suraji in Purwokerto, Central Java, on January 21, 2001. His appeal for a judicial review was rejected on March 25, 2008.
Sumiarsih and Sugeng were sentenced to death by the Surabaya district on January 19, 1989 for premeditated murder. They killed Marine Lt Col Purwanto, his wife, his two children and his nephew. Their appeals were rejected in 1995.
The government last month announced its plan to speed up the executions of convicts who had been on death row for a long time. Most of the death row convicts were sentenced for drug offenses.
According to Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, there were 57 drug offenders on death row whose executions would be sped up by his office.
According AGO records, a total of 72 people were sentenced to death for narcotic drug offenses in the country since 1994. Five of them had been executed, one died a natural death, five had their sentences commuted to life, and onother one to 15 years imprisonment.
The five convicts already executed were Nigerians Anthony and Okoye (executed last month in Central Java), Ayodya Prasad Chaubay, Saelow Prasad and Namsong, who faced a firing squad in Medan, North Sumatra, several years ago.
The relatively large number of convicts on death row was attributed to the fact that most of them had filed requests for judicial reviews or applied for clemency but had yet to receive official replies. Meanwhile, there was legally no deadline for the judicial or government officials concerned to give their replies to the convicts' requests.
For example, death-row convicts Hunphery Ejke alias Doctor, Mgs Zaenal Abidin and Rahen Agbaje filed for judicial reviews of their sentences years ago but have until today yet to receive official answers.
Jakarta, July 4 (ANTARA) - After carrying out the execution by firing squad of two Nigerian drug offenders last week, Indonesian public prosecutors are planning to implement the death sentences of five more convicts this month.
The plan to execute the five convicts who have been on death row for years is part of the Indonesian authorities' efforts to speed up the execution of 57 convicts, some of whom have been languishing in jail since 1994.
Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes AH Ritonga said the execution of the five death row convicts would be carried out by higher prosecutor's offices as soon as the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had served them the required notices.
"We are now about to serve notices on higher prosecutor's offices in a few regions where death row convicts are being held," Ritonga said on Wednesday.
Two Nigerians who had been on death row for dug offenses, Samuel Iwuchukwu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaolisa, were executed in Central Java last month. Okoye was sentenced to death by the Tangerang district court in Banten on July 5, 2001 for smuggling 3.8 kg of heroin into Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Nwaolisa was given the death penalty by the same court on August 13, 2001 for circulating 3.2 kg of heroin in Indonesia.
The convicts facing execution this month had all exhausted the existing legal avenues for either a judicial review of their sentences or for clemency so there were no legal reasons any more for public prosecutor's offices to delay their executions.
"The executions will be carried out in order to eliminate doubts among the public about law enforcement in Indonesia," Ritonga said as quoted by 'Republika' daily on Wednesday.
One of the five death row convicts is Dukun AS alias Ahmad Suraji, a man sentenced to death for murdering 42 women in North Sumatra in 1984-1994 - crimes he committed to enhance his 'magic' powers as a shaman.
The North Sumatra Higher Public Prosecutor's Office has started an administrative process for preparations to execute him.
Dukun AS was sentenced to death on April 27, 1997 by the Lubuk Pakan district court in Deli Serdang. His appeals in higher courts and subsquent application for clemency were all rejected.
Gortap Marbun, chief of the North Sumatra Higher Public Prosecutor's Office, said Wednesday the Attorney General's Office (AGO) had already served notice to carry out Dukun's execution.
However, the exact time for the execution had not yet been set as the office had first to complete certain administrative procedures, coordinate the execution plan with the police, court and the law and human rights ministry.
The office also still had to prepare the convict himself and his family for the execution, Marbun said.
Tubagus Maulana Yusuf is another convict on death row from Rangkasbitung, (Lebak), Banten. The Rangkasbitung district court sentenced him to death last March for murdering eight people also to increase the 'supernatural' powers he allegdly possessed. Tubagus, however, did not appeal his sentence nor did he ask for clemency.
The other death row convicts are Rio Alek Bulo, Sumiarsih and Sugeng. Rio Alek Bulo was sentenced to death for murdering noted lawyer Jeje Suraji in Purwokerto, Central Java, on January 21, 2001. His appeal for a judicial review was rejected on March 25, 2008.
Sumiarsih and Sugeng were sentenced to death by the Surabaya district on January 19, 1989 for premeditated murder. They killed Marine Lt Col Purwanto, his wife, his two children and his nephew. Their appeals were rejected in 1995.
The government last month announced its plan to speed up the executions of convicts who had been on death row for a long time. Most of the death row convicts were sentenced for drug offenses.
According to Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, there were 57 drug offenders on death row whose executions would be sped up by his office.
According AGO records, a total of 72 people were sentenced to death for narcotic drug offenses in the country since 1994. Five of them had been executed, one died a natural death, five had their sentences commuted to life, and onother one to 15 years imprisonment.
The five convicts already executed were Nigerians Anthony and Okoye (executed last month in Central Java), Ayodya Prasad Chaubay, Saelow Prasad and Namsong, who faced a firing squad in Medan, North Sumatra, several years ago.
The relatively large number of convicts on death row was attributed to the fact that most of them had filed requests for judicial reviews or applied for clemency but had yet to receive official replies. Meanwhile, there was legally no deadline for the judicial or government officials concerned to give their replies to the convicts' requests.
For example, death-row convicts Hunphery Ejke alias Doctor, Mgs Zaenal Abidin and Rahen Agbaje filed for judicial reviews of their sentences years ago but have until today yet to receive official answers.