Human rights activists stage a rally in Kota Tua, West Jakarta, in 2018 to commemorate World Day against the Death Penalty. - Photo: The Jakarta Post file
JAKARTA: President Prabowo Subianto ’s decision to let a Philippine woman, who has been convicted for drug trafficking, to serve the remainder of her sentence in her home country under a transfer of prisoner arrangement has opened a Pandora’s box.
She was sentenced by an Indonesian court to death, but the Philippines has long abolished capital punishment.
Indonesian legal experts scrambled for an explanation regarding the decision, which came to light only after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced in Manila on Nov 21 that Marie Jane Veloso would be coming home soon, and thanked Prabowo for agreeing to the transfer arrangement.
Veloso’s return will almost certainly mean her life would be spared, but Manila will have to come up with a legal explanation why this should be so, as the transfer arrangement requires that the prisoner still be treated under Indonesian law.
Just as Indonesian government officials were putting together their legal explanation, in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Prabowo had agreed for the transfer of several Australian prisoners convicted for drug trafficking, though none were on death row.
Clearly, the Indonesian authorities were not fully briefed, if at all, about some of the agreements that Prabowo had made during his recent 16-day foreign sojourn.
Since his inauguration on Oct 20, the new president has sprung many surprises departing from existing foreign policies.
The transfer of prisoners is one of them. Confirmation in Jakarta later came from the Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra, who said Prabowo had exercised a presidential prerogative in making these agreements with foreign leaders.
The government will be working on procedures for the transfer of prisoners under the mutual legal assistance, he said.
France has formally requested the transfer of its citizen Serge Atlaoui, who is also on Indonesia’s death row for drug trafficking, Yusril said.
Prabowo’s predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo had rejected pleas for clemency for Veloso and Atlaoui, leaving them with no other means to receive legal reprieve.
Both had been transported to the venue for execution in the Nusakambangan penitentiary island along with 12 others in 2015.
All but four were spared after eleventh hour appeals for a stay of execution on their behalf. Surprisingly, there was no mention of Lindsay Sandiford, the British woman on death row in Bali, in the discussion on prison transfer, although London has made many interventions on her behalf in the past.
Prabowo was in the United Kingdom last week as part of his recent foreign trip. Foreigners, mostly from countries in Africa, account for a sizable number of people on death row for drug trafficking.
It’s not clear from this episode where Prabowo stands on capital punishment.
Is the former Army general an abolitionist, or as critics at home speculate, did he have foreign policy considerations in making these deals?
Indonesia’s public opinion is still very much tilted towards retaining the death penalty.
What We’ve Heard
A senior government official familiar with the cases of Mary Jane and the Bali Nine revealed that a potential exchange involving Mary Jane had been discussed during then president-elect Prabowo Subianto 's courtesy visit to Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Meanwhile, the planned repatriation of the Bali Nine convicts was discussed verbally with the Australian government. “There is no legal framework for it yet,” the source said.
According to the source, the government is currently drafting the legal basis for repatriating these prisoners.
The Correctional Facilities Law stipulates that the repatriation of foreign inmates must be governed by specific legislation.
However, the source noted a regulatory misstep, highlighting that such provisions should not be at the level of a law.
“This should be regulated through a lower-tier regulation, such as a government regulation or ministerial decree,” the source said.
Following Indonesia’s decision to repatriate the Philippine and Australian drug convicts, some other foreign missions in Indonesia are now exploring the possibility to ask for the same mechanism for their nationals who are now serving their jail terms in the country. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
