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Roundup: Indonesia goes ahead with death execution plans despite pressure

Xinhua, January 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Indonesian government goes ahead with plans to execute more drug convicts as part of its efforts to eradicate rampant and serious drug abuse problem in the country despite negative responses demonstrated by domestic rights groups and some countries.

Following its recent move to execute six convicts from several nationalities embroiled in drug cases in the country, Indonesian government is planning to continue more executions with an Australian is already listed in the next execution.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that government has rejected request from Australian government to release the latter's national from death penalty. "I have received the letter and replied it, explaining to them about our law enforcement against serious violation of drug abuse crime,"the minister said in the presidential palace on Monday.

To prepare the next execution, Indonesia's General Attorney Mohammad Prasetyo said it would be conducted after going through pertinent and cautious process to assure compliance of all legal aspects in executing the convicts. "If everything has been complied with, we will speed up plans for the execution," Prasetyo said in his office on Sunday.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has rejected the clemency plea of Australian Myuran Sukumaran and put him in the list of next execution. The president is now processing another clemency filed in by Andrew Chan, also an Australian.

Those two men were part of nine Australians, nicknamed Bali Nine, arrested by Indonesian authority in Bali international airport of Ngurah Rai for possession of 8.3 kilograms heroin.

Myuran and Andrew were sentenced to death by judge panels in 2006. The rest of Bali Nine members obtained sentences varied from 20 years to life in prison.

Indonesia gets stern responses from the Netherlands and Brazil as citizens of the those two countries were among the ones shot to death in front of firing squads at around midnight on Jan. 18 in the vicinity of two Indonesian prisons.

Those two countries recalled their ambassadors to Indonesia as efforts to free their nationals from the execution failed.

Indonesian government's harsh move to execute drug convicts was strongly opposed by several rights watchdogs at home. They said that the execution was incorrect move as it doesn't target the drug mafia that runs the illegal drug business in the country.

An analyst at Indonesia's prominent think tank agency Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Phillips Jusario Vermonte said that government's decision to execute drug convicts may exacerbate the nation's bargaining position in term of freeing its nationals from death row in countries abroad.

"President Joko Widodo may forget that there are many Indonesians who are now in death row in foreign countries. The death execution in Indonesia would exacerbate our moral base in negotiations to save our migrant workers from the executions," Phillips said here on Monday.

He added that about 265 Indonesian migrant workers are now struggling to be freed from death penalties for various violations they committed in countries abroad. Endi