Indonesia planning mass executions after Ramadan

Indonesia: Getting ready for a new wave of executions

Spokesman for attorney-general confirms that executions are set to resume after a hiatus

Indonesia plans to put 16 convicts to death after next month’s Muslim Eid holiday, an official said Tuesday, confirming executions were set to resume after a hiatus.

The death row convicts will be executed “immediately after” the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Mohammad Rum, a spokesman for the attorney-general’s office, told AFP, but he did not give a precise date.

Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which falls in Indonesia on 6 and 7 July.

Rum did not say who would face the firing squad, but Indonesia has been waging a campaign against narcotics and in 2015 executed 14 drug convicts, mostly foreigners, sparking international outrage.

There have been no executions since April last year, with Indonesia saying it was pausing capital punishment to focus on fixing its slowing economy.

“We could not do it earlier because the government was trying to improve our economy, but now we will take some action after Eid,” Rum said.

Rum said the convicts would likely be put to death by firing squad on the prison island of Nusakambangan, off Java, where executions are usually carried out.

There are scores of drug convicts on death row in Indonesia, among them foreigners including Frenchman Serge Atlaoui and Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, who were both pulled from the last round of executions.

British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford is on death row in Bali after she was caught smuggling a huge stash of cocaine into the resort island.

President Joko Widodo declared a war on drugs when he took office in 2014, saying that the country was facing an emergency due to rising narcotics use and traffickers should be severely punished.

There were two rounds of executions last year. The second round in April, which saw two Australians, a Brazilian and four Nigerians put to death, caused the most serious diplomatic backlash.

Following the executions of the Australian drug smugglers, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Canberra temporarily recalled its ambassador from Jakarta.

Source: Agence France-Presse, June 14, 2016

British pair may face firing squad during new 'wave' of executions in Indonesia

Lindsay Sandiford (center) knitting with other Kerobokan prison inmates.

A grandmother and a father may be among 16 executed after Ramadan ends

Indonesia is to perform a wave of executions after the end of Ramadan, meaning two British people on death row may face the firing squad sooner than expected.

The country’s government announced it plans to put 16 convicted prisoners to death after Eid holiday in early July, the first executions since the start of a hiatus in April last year.

Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother from Teeside convicted of trafficking cocaine with a street value of £1.6 million, was given the death penalty in August 2013 and remains on death row.

Gareth Cashmore from Yorkshire was convicted for smuggling crystal meth in the country and has been in custody since September 2012.

It is not yet clear whether Ms Sandiford or Mr Cashmore will be among the group of prisoners executed next month.

Mohammad Rum, spokesman for the Indonesian attorney-general, told AFP the executions would take place soon but refused to specify who would face the firing squad or on what date.

“We could not do it earlier because the government was trying to improve our economy, but now we will take some action after Eid,” he said.

Executions were temporarily halted in the spring last year after the ‘Bali Nine’ drug-traffickers including two Australians were killed by firing squad in April, a case which caused international outrage and criticism of the Indonesian government.

Indonesia claimed at the time the country’s economic troubles had forced the suspension of executions, although many argued the true motivation was political.

Twelve foreigners were executed in 2015 in total, all on drugs charges.

Ms Sandiford, 59, has repeatedly insisted she was manipulated and used as a mule to transport the cocaine as a means to protect her sons, aged 22 and 24.

She launched an appeal to have her sentence reduced but it was rejected, as the majority of appeals for drug offences are.

Despite the attempted intervention of prime minister David Cameron during a visit to Jakarta in 2014, Ms Sandiford’s position remains unchanged.

Prosecutors said Mr Cashmore was attempting to transport crystal meth worth up to £800,000 when he was arrested at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Rum confirmed the executions would take place on the island of Nusakambangan near Java, where they are typically carried out.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo says the policy of executing drug smugglers is "necessary" because of the mounting problem with substance abuse in the country.

The Independent has contacted the Foreign & Commonwealth Office for comment.

Source: The Independent, June 14, 2016

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