Some 1,117 Hindu inmates granted remission on 2022 Silence Day

Jakarta, March 3 (ANTARA) - The Law and Human Rights Ministry granted special remissions to a total of 1,117 Hindu prisoners across Indonesia for 2022 Hindu Silence Day (Nyepi Day) that coincides with the 1944 Saka New Year. "The granting of remissions is expected to motivate inmates to improve themselves and increase their obedience to God," Coordinator of Public Relations and Protocol at the ministry Rika Aprianti noted in a written statement here on Thursday. Out of the total inmates, 1,113 people received partial remission. The number included 269 prisoners, who received 15 days of remission; 687 people granted a one-month remission, 117 convicts given remission for one month and 15 days; as well as 40 inmates granted a two-month remission. Meanwhile, the four other inmates got an early release after one of them received a 15-day remission, while the three other prisoners received a remission of one month. In 2022, a total of 792 prisoners receiving the special remission were the subjects of the ministry’s Regional Office in Bali Province. Furthermore, the ministry’s regional offices in the provinces of Central Kalimantan and North Sumatra also contributed the most to the number of inmates getting remission, with 70 people and 47 people respectively. Aprianti remarked that all remissions were given online through the database system of the correctional institutions. The online remission submission service had been implemented before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. "The system facilitates us to check the administrative and substantive requirements of the submission that should be fulfilled by the inmates," the ministry’s official remarked. In addition, the inmates’ family members can directly monitor the remission proposal process. As of February 22, 2022, the number of inmates in Indonesia totaled 271,252. The granting of remission for 2022 Nyepi Day is estimated to save the prisoners’ meal costs by Rp551 million, considering that on an average, the food cost of one inmate reaches Rp17 thousand per day.