Human rights activists stage a rally in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, to commemorate the World Day against the Death Penalty in this undated file photo. - The Jakarta Post
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): A recent report from Amnesty International suggests that Indonesia's revised Criminal Code is a step in the right direction toward abolishing capital punishment, even as the country’s justice system continues to hand down high numbers of death sentences.
Passed at the end of last year, the revised Criminal Code introduced an automatic 10-year probation for convicts on death row to demonstrate good behavior for the possibility of having their sentences commuted.
After the probation elapses, the sitting president may decrease the sentence to life in prison or 20 years in prison.
The policy will take effect in 2026. Amnesty International Indonesia researcher Ari Pramuditya said that although Indonesia still had a long way to go before the death penalty was completely abolished, the new penal code was "a positive step" that deserved recognition.
"However, we still need to closely monitor its implementation. Amnesty will continue to push for the total abolition of the death penalty.
Although the probation for people sentenced to death is a step in the right direction, it's not enough, and we still have a long way to go," Ari said at a press conference on Tuesday. Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said the country had to use the opportunity to significantly reduce instances of capital punishment after years of what he said were shockingly high figures.
Indonesia has continued to record-high numbers of death sentences in recent years, with 112 instances 2022, just two fewer than in 2021, according to Amnesty. In 2020, it recorded 117 death sentences.
As of Monday, there were 452 convicts awaiting execution. Zero-tolerance policy Ari said one of the main reasons for Indonesia's high level of death sentences was President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's "zero-tolerance" policy against drugs, with drug crimes accounting for 94 per cent of all death sentences last year.
"Some judges even mentioned Jokowi's zero-tolerance approach to drugs as a contributing factor for handing out the death penalty to drug offenders," he said.
According to Ari, support for the zero-tolerance approach was partly based on the misguided idea that the death penalty deterred drug-related crimes.
Despite the high number of drug convicts sentenced to death, he noted, Indonesia continued to see a growing number of drug users.
