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AG reported to prosecution watchdog over 'unlawful' execution

Jakarta Globe - August 10, 2016

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Jakarta – Legal rights activists filed a report against Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo with the state prosecution watchdog on Wednesday (10/08) over the recent execution of one of four death-row inmates, which they claim had been unlawful.

The government pressed ahead late last month with the execution of four convicted drug offenders, three of whom had filed clemency appeals. The executions also came amid mounting outrage from the international community.

A series of clemency appeals were submitted to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo by Nigerian Humphrey Ejike, Senegalese Seck Osmane and Indonesian Freddy Budiman ahead of the executions.

Jokowi had repeatedly said he would not exercise this prerogative, amid what he declared as a state of emergency over drug-related crimes in Indonesia.

However, the 2002 Law on Clemency stipulates that "execution of the death penalty cannot proceed before a convict receives a presidential decree rejecting his or her clemency appeal."

The government's response to the clemency appeals remains unclear, but activists have recently learned that a letter Ejike received to notify him that his appeal for clemency had been rejected did not come from the president.

This prompted the activists to report Prasetyo to the Commission for Public Prosecutions (Komjak) over Ejike's case, which they say could be an "entry point" to thoroughly examine the execution of the other convicts, as well as plans for more executions in the future.

"There has been no clear explanation from the Attorney General's Office," said Afif Abdul Qoyim of the Jakarta-based Legal Aid Institute (LBH), and a member Ejike's legal team.

"He has received no presidential letter on his clemency appeal until the day of his execution." However, Prasetyo earlier said all the convicts' legal rights had been fulfilled.

Wednesday's report against Prasetyo was also made over the timing of Ejike's execution. Activists cited the 1964 Law on Procedures for Capital Punishment, which stipulates that "72 hours before the imposition of the death penalty, prosecutors must notify the convict about the imminent execution."

The authorities notified Ejike about the time of his execution at around 3 p.m. on July 26, less than 72 hours before he faced the firing squad on Nusakambangan Island in Cilacap, Central Java.

"The provision is not negotiable whatsoever," said Erasmus Napitupulu of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR).

Responding to Wednesday's report, Commission for Public Prosecutions chairman Sumarno said: "We will examine this. Laws are indeed like that. There are always pros and cons."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/ag-reported-prosecution-watchdog-unlawful-execution/.