(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary). Humaira Bibi, sister of Zulfikar Ali, convicted of drug crimes, cries in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 27, 2016.
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It was the first round of executions in Indonesia since April previous year when authorities put to death eight drug convicts, including two Australians, which sparked worldwide outrage. For example, allegedly, Pakistani citizen Zulfiqar Ali – who is among those who face imminent executions on drug smuggling – was violently beaten by Indonesian police officers in order to “encourage” a confession. Pakistani Ambassador Aqil Naseem said the government of Pakistan respected the Indonesian legal system, but believed that the legal process against Ali was flawed.
Australian drug convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed after numerous appeals from supporters who claimed they were reformed.
The Indonesian government says the death penalty is necessary for drug crimes because the country is facing a drug epidemic, particularly affecting young people.
It was not immediately clear how many people were put to death.
Rights activists and governments have again called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday called on Indonesia to end the “unjust” use of the death penalty, while the European Union urged Jakarta to stop the “cruel and inhumane punishment, which fails to act as a deterrent”.
Friday’s executions were the third under Widodo since he took office in 2014.
MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup had yesterday said that Indian Embassy officials in Jakarta were reaching out to the Indonesian foreign office and the senior leadership of the country on the issue.
Relatives of the four drug traffickers murdered, and 10 whose lives were spared for now, traveled to Nusakambangan Island the day before the executions to say their goodbyes and were visibly distraught when ambulances carrying coffins arrived in anticipation of transporting the dead.
As many as 14 people were originally set to face the firing squad together on Friday, but officials decided a “comprehensive review” was needed to “avoid any mistake” in the 10 cases, Attorney General H. Muhammad Prasetyo said.
But critics argue that capital punishment is not an effective deterrent and some have also questioned the accuracy of the government’s drug abuse statistics. As such, executions will not have an impact on drug-related crime as the big players will simply seek other, desperate or unaware, people to smuggle drugs.
“The execution of at least four people tonight by the Indonesian authorities is a deplorable act that violates global law”, said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South East Asia and the Pacific.
Jokowi’s predecessor ended a moratorium on executions in 2013.
Amnesty International has identified what it calls “systematic flaws” in the trials of several of the death row inmates, and urged Indonesia not to proceed while appeals for clemency were pending.
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The executions took place at midnight (local time) and the four deaths were confirmed to have happened during heavy rain and thunderstorms, according to the ABC.
