Indonesia Sends Rejection of Clemency Letter to 7 Countries

Liputan6.com, Jakarta The death penalty placed on a number of foreign drug-offenders will continue to be a policy for similar future cases. With the circumstance given, many countries whose citizens are currently under the threat of being executed immediately requested for clemency from President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo.

These countries are trying to save their citizens from being executed by the firing squads. Those efforts however, are proven to be useless as the President immediately rejected the clemency requests.

The Indonesian government has made death penalty a mandatory policy for those who are captured for drugs charges. In trying to inform the world about this policy, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Relations sends a notice letter to the ambassadors of countries whose citizens are subjects to execution.

”The Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Relations has notified several countries embassies whose citizens clemency rejected by Jokowi,” Ministry of Foreign Relations spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said at the Kemenlu office, Thursday (04/02/2015). 

Arrmanatha has not yet confirmed the number of countries he will be notifying, but it may be around 7.

"7 countries, im still unsure. But perhaps around 7 countries," he said.

Indonesia’s death penalty has earned itself a worldwide criticism. Critic is most sound around the Europe area. The European Union Ambassador Olof Skoog viewed Indonesia’s drugs capital punishment as too harsh and that they raised an objection against Jokowi’s decision. He thinks death penalty is not an effective way to combat terrorism.

"We profoundly object the death penalty placed on the drugs-offenders. It is not because those on death rows European, but this is a matter of principal," Skoog said at the European Union Embassy Office, Jakarta, Wednesday (03/02/2015). 

With the widespread of drugs users, couriers and distributers throughout Indonesia, President Jokowi has applied the capital punishment of death penalty for those individuals. This is for him, viewed as an effective strategy to combat rampant drugs. (Akp)