Paras Indonesia, August, 23 2006 @ 08:18 pm
Execution Dates Of Death Row Inmates Undecided
By: Roy Tupai
After delaying the executions of three Christian militiamen sentenced to death over
sectarian violence in Central Sulawesi and three Islamic militants given the same
sentence over the Bali nightclub bombings, authorities are yet to decide when the six
will face the firing squad.
Catholics Fabianus Tibo (61), Marinus Riwu (48) and Dominggus da Silva (42) were to
have been executed on August 12 after being convicted of premeditated murder and
inciting deadly religious riots over May-June 2000 in Poso, Central Sulawesi. But the
Attorney General's Office at the last minute announced the executions would be
postponed until after Indonesia's August 17 Independence Day.
Muslims Amrozi (43), Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (46) and Imam Samudra (38) were to
have been executed on August 22 for their key roles in the October 2002 Bali
bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. But the Attorney General's
Office on August 21 said the executions would be postponed pending the lodging of a
final appeal for a judicial review.
Lawyers for the Bali bombers on Wednesday delayed filing the appeal, saying they
first had to overcome some "technical problems". Lawyer Qaidhar Faisal could not
say when the judicial review would be filed.
The appeal will be based on the Constitutional Court's ruling that anti-terror legislation
enacted after the bombings cannot be applied retroactively. It is widely expected to
fail, as officials had said the court's ruling would not reverse the death sentences for
the Bali bombers.
Lawyer Mahendradatta of the Muslim Defense Team (TPM) on Tuesday said the final
appeal was not an effort to save the lives of the three bombers. "We feel very calm.
The TPM does not aim to save the lives of Amrozi and his friends. Death is in God's
hands," he said.
'Political Game'
Analysts have said the plan for near simultaneous executions of Poso three and the
Bali bombers was merely an effort to show the judiciary is "balanced" in its treatment
of Muslims and Christians. Rights groups have pointed out there is no connection
between the Bali bombings and the Poso violence. Some Islamic groups have claimed
the Poso executions were postponed because of foreign pressure.
Philosophy lecturer and cultural commentator Romo Mudji Sutrisno, speaking at a
congress of religious leaders on Wednesday, said the timing of the executions
indicated that political factors had influenced the judiciary. "This is politicization, with
the Christians facing the death penalty at the same time as the Muslims... This is no
longer a matter of the law, but a political matter. The law is not supreme," he was
quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
He said Indonesia should end the death sentence because it was being politicized
and assumes that felons are incapable of change and redemption.
'Executions Will Go Ahead'
Abdul Hakim Ritonga, an official at the Attorney General's Office, on Tuesday said the
date for the executions of Tibo, Riwu and da Silva was yet to be set by the Central
Sulawesi Police and the provincial prosecutor's office.
"So far we have not received their report. Once we receive their report, we will
announce it," he said.
People's Consultative Assembly speaker Hidayat Nurwahid on Tuesday said the
delayed execution of the Poso three raised doubts over the government's commitment
to uphold the law. He said the executions must take place or it will set a bad
precedent for law enforcement.
"If thugs are arrested and do not want to be punished or executed; then next,
perpetrators of illegal logging will also not want to be punished on a similar basis. If
that happens, then Indonesia never again be a state based on law. There will be
problems if the law is canceled or withdrawn because of foreign pressure," he said.
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