Indonesia: President pardons death row inmate for drug trafficking

Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on March 28, 2023. AP

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo has granted clemency to a woman sentenced to death for drug trafficking. She had been on death row for more than twenty years. Amnesty International described the Head of State's decision as "unprecedented". According to the NGO, more than 500 people are awaiting execution in Indonesia, including a number of foreigners.

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With our correspondent in the region, Juliette Pietraszewski

Seven years after sending a plea to the president for the first time, Merri Utami, sentenced to death in 2002, benefits from the clemency of Joko Widodo.

Convicted of attempting to smuggle heroin into Indonesia, she says she was duped. At almost 50 years old, the inmate escaped death. His lawyers welcome the president's clemency and now hope to further reduce their client's sentence.

Amnesty International in Indonesia called the decision "unprecedented" under Widodo's administration. The country handed down at least 114 death sentences in 2021, according to the NGO – 82% of them for drug-related offences.

This Indonesian presidential clemency comes days after neighboring Malaysia decided to cancel the so-called "automatic" death penalty for certain crimes.

Phil Robertson is the head of Human Rights Watch's Asia office. "President Joko Widodo's decision to grant clemency in this case is a good thing, but no one should forget that more than 500 people are still languishing on death row in Indonesia," he said. It is hoped that Jakarta will take a close look at the latest major decision by the Malaysian government, which abolished the mandatory death penalty for certain crimes. It is hoped that Indonesia will also be able to make further progress towards the abolition of this inherently cruel and unusual punishment.

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NGOs say they are closely scrutinizing developments in some Southeast Asian countries regarding the death penalty.

► Read also Drug laws: Southeast Asia at a crossroads

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Indonesia
  • Justice
  • Human rights
  • Joko Widodo
  • Drug