Death penalty must be abolished
The Indonesian government has resumed executions at an alarming rate, going against the United Nations global moratorium on executions.
For over a year there have been no executions in Indonesia. On 26 June, two Nigerian nationals were executed, prompting the European Union to condemn the Indonesian Government’s action and urge for the full abolition of the death penalty.
Indonesia has since executed Achmad Suradji on 10 July, and announced that a further four people will be executed very soon. Amnesty International is aware of over 100 people currently on death row in Indonesia
The Australian Government has not publicly condemned these executions.
The Australian government cannot remain silent. Australia must reaffirm its principled and consistent stance against the death penalty and use its strong relationship with Indonesia to encourage them to suspend all executions and take steps to abolish the death penalty altogether.
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Background [-]
People are currently under sentence of death in Indonesia for murder, drug trafficking and terrorism offences. The death penalty is also provided for crimes including treason, theft resulting in death, producing or making available narcotics, and crimes against humanity. There have also been calls to introduce capital punishment for economic crimes, including illegal logging and corruption.
The death penalty violates the right to life. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It has no place in a modern criminal justice system.
In addition, every judicial system carries the risk that it will convict an innocent person and, when an innocent person is executed, the error can never be corrected. Indonesia's judicial system is widely acknowledged to be in severe need of reform.
There has been growing debate in Indonesia about the death penalty amongst the public, civil society groups and the government. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his predecessor President Megawati, have both publicly supported the imposition of death sentences for drug traffickers to address Indonesia's drug problems.
While Amnesty International acknowledges the need to address serious crimes, including the trade in illicit drugs, the organisation is convinced that the death penalty will not provide a solution. There is no clear evidence that the death penalty acts as a more effective deterrent against crime than other forms of punishment.
Many Indonesian organisations agree that the death penalty has no proven deterrent effect. Activists against the death penalty in Indonesia have argued that the policy of imposing the death sentences for drug traffickers is politically motivated, in an attempt to defend the failure of the legal system to stop trafficking in the first place. The death penalty is always a cruel violation of the most basic of human rights.