Firing squad executes 4 men for drug crimes in Indonesia
Print Edition
INDONESIA yesterday executed four people convicted of drug crimes and said it would decide later when as many as 10 others who got an unexpected reprieve are put to death.
One Indonesian and three Nigerians were executed by firing squad not long after midnight local time as torrential rains hit the Nusa Kambangan prison island where the death row inmates were held.
The government said earlier in the week that 14 people on death row, mostly foreigners, would be executed for drug crimes. Those executed were Indonesian Freddy Budiman and Nigerians Seck Osmane, Michael Titus and Humphrey Jefferson.
It was the third set of executions under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo who was elected in 2014. Last year, Jokowi’s government executed 14 people convicted of drug crimes, mostly foreigners, sparking a huge outcry abroad, and particularly in Australia, which had two citizens among those condemned.
Indonesia says it is facing a drug abuse epidemic and putting drug traffickers to death will act as a deterrent.
In preparation for the executions, a convoy of 17 ambulances, most carrying coffins, had arrived on Thursday morning at the port town nearest Nusa Kambangan and were ferried to the island. Officials began tightening security at the prison several days ago, with more than 1,000 police sent to Cilacap, the port town, and the prisoners moved into isolation cells.
The Jakarta Post newspaper apologized on its website yesterday for going to print with a front-page story that said 14 people had been executed. “The failure to do the verification before running the story is completely unprofessional,” it said.
Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo told a news conference that the severity of the drug crimes and exhaustion of all appeals was a consideration in the execution of the four men.
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