Indonesia executes four convicted drug offenders

 

Government reports four of 14 people have been executed

Indonesia insists the nation's drug situation requires tough

measures

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) — Indonesia executed four convicted

drug offenders by firing squad early Friday, the country's

deputy attorney general said.

Noor Rachmad told reporters outside the Nusakambangan

prison in central Java that authorities have not decided when

10 other prisoners will be executed.

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Executed were two Nigerians, one Senegalese and one

Indonesian, CNN Indonesia, a CNN affiliate, reported. Petitions

to review their cases had been denied.

One of the Nigerians was Humphrey Jefferson Ejike, who was

unjustly killed, according to his legal team.

"At this stage, we can only say that we are extremely

disappointed with the fact that Jeff was executed," said

Raynov Tumorang by text message. "The government does not

respect the ongoing legal process on Jeff's case."

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"There is strong evidence of torture and he was not given a

fair trial. Racism towards our client can be seen in the court

decision."

Cheikh Niang, Senegal's ambassador to Japan, who also

oversees Indonesia, told CNN that the executed Senegalese

prisoner was in fact from Nigeria but had traveled to Indonesia

on a fake passport.

He said he visited the prisoner on March 15 and informed the

Indonesian authorities.

Cries for end to more executions

Amnesty International said the 10 people still facing the death

penalty include more Indonesians, a Pakistani, an Indian, a

Zimbabwean, a South African and three Nigerians. Amnesty

called the executions violations of Indonesian and

international law.

Any executions that are still to take place must be halted

immediately. The injustice already done cannot be reversed,

but there is still hope that it won't be compounded," said

Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International's director for South

East Asia and the Pacific.

Before the executions took place, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry

spokesman Armanatha Nasir stressed that capital punishment

wasn't against international law.

"For Indonesia, the death penalty is a positive law that is still

effective here, and it's not against human rights under the

context of the 1945 constitution," he said.

"The action that Indonesia takes now is just about law

implementation and enforcement. Just like how Indonesia

respects the law of other nations, we hope all countries will

respect Indonesian law."

Indonesia is one of 33 countries worldwide that use the death

penalty for drug offenses.

Controversy

Indonesian officials have said all measures will be taken to

prevent the drama surrounding the executions in April last

year .

Australian drug convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran

were executed after numerous appeals from supporters who

claimed they were reformed.

At the last moment Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, also sentenced

to death, was spared. Indonesia apparently acceded to

appeals to wait for a pending case against Veloso's alleged

human traffickers in the Philippines.

Her lawyers said she was a victim of human trafficking and

was tricked into carrying heroin in her suitcase.

The Indonesian government insists the country faces a drug

emergency that requires tough measures.

Its all-out war on illegal drugs has already seen a large number

of executions in recent years.

Fourteen drug convicts faced the firing squad in 2015, six in

January and another eight in April.

Under the administration of former President Susilo Bambang

Yudhoyono, a total of 21 convicts were executed from 2005 to

2013.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon appealed to

Indonesia to halt the executions.

"Under international law, if the death penalty is to be used at

all, it should only be imposed for the "most serious crimes,"

namely those involving intentional killing."

"Drug crimes are generally not considered to meet this

threshold," the statement added.

Indonesia's prosecutors have always stressed that only death

row convicts who have exhausted all legal avenues are put on

the execution list. They are given the option to seek

presidential clemency and a Supreme Court judicial review.

However, rights activists have long insisted the death penalty

is not an effective deterrent to drug prevention.

"There is no evidence to support President Widodo's position,"

said Amnesty campaigner Josef Benedict.

"The death penalty does not deter crime. Carrying out

executions will not rid Indonesia of drugs. It is never the

solution, and it will damage Indonesia's standing in the world.