Capital Punishment In Indonesia

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Indonesia. Although the death penalty is enforced only in grave cases of premeditated murder, Corruption, it is regularly applied to some drug traffickers. Executions are carried out by firing squad.

History

Though the death penalty existed as a punishment from the inception of the Republic of Indonesia, the first judicial execution did not take place until 1973.

The Indonesian government does not issue detailed statistics about every person facing the death penalty in the country. In fact, "the search for precise figures is hampered by prevailing state secrecy over the death penalty." It is believed, however, that there are around 355 people, Indonesians and foreign nationals, currently sentenced to die in Indonesia. About ten new death sentences are handed down annually, though executions are infrequent. Many of the prisoners awaiting execution have been waiting for ten years or more. Four executions took place in 2011, the first since 2008. In 2014, no executions took place. In January 2015, six people (among them one Dutchman, one Brazilian, one Vietnamese, one Malawian and Nigerian) were shot for drug-related crimes. In April 2015, another eight men, including several Nigerian nationals, one Brazilian and two Australian citizens were executed, also for drug trafficking. There were no executions in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 and none have been scheduled for 2022, possibly as a result of intense and widespread international criticism the Indonesian government had to face for carrying out the last executions. President Jokowi has since stated that he is now open to reintroducing an official moratorium on the death penalty. Indonesia is well-noted as "a strong advocate against the death penalty for its citizens abroad."

In 2008, the three Bali bombers were executed.

Legal process

Use of execution by firing squad

Prisoners spend often a long time in prison before their sentence is finally carried out. Usually their final appeal has been exhausted through the trial court, two appellate courts, and consideration of clemency by the President.

Prisoners executed by firing squad, as mandated by Law No. 2/PNPS/1964. The law applied for civilian and military execution.

Prisoners are woken up in the middle of the night and taken to a remote (and undisclosed) location and executed by firing squad. The method has not changed since 1964.

The prisoner states their final request which the prosecutor may grant when deemed feasible and do not obstruct the execution process.

The blindfolded prisoner is led to a grassy area where they have an option to sit or stand. The firing squad is composed of 12 soldiers, who shoot at the prisoner from a range of five to ten metres, aiming at the heart. Only three fire live bullets and the rest fire blanks. If the prisoner survives the shot, the commander is required to shoot the prisoner in the brain with his own weapon. The procedure is repeated until a doctor confirms no signs of life remain.

Historical use of hanging

Despite Indonesia using Law No. 2/PNPS/1964 that mandated execution by firing squad, Article No. 11 of Indonesia Criminal Code however, still that mandated execution must be performed by hanging and the part remain written in the code until this present day. This part is piece of law of colonial era, as Indonesian Criminal Code inherited from Dutch East Indies Criminal Code, but the article already superseded by Law No. 2/PNPS/1964 in practice. During Dutch colonial era, execution performed by public hanging at town park and quite barbaric in nature, because the hanging performed by short drop hanging, in which 3 executioners played their role in the death of the condemned prisoner, one for opening trap door, one for pulling the leg, and another one for pushing the prisoner's shoulder below, so the condemned prisoner death hastened. The hanging also often not employed hood, as recorded by Dutch chronicler Justus van Maurik which recorded the execution scenes in his 1897 book "''Indrukken van een “Totok,” Indische type en schetsen''". One condemned prisoner, even experienced "horrific facial changes, bulged eyes, extremely protruding tongue, and blood discharge from body orifices" during this kind of hanging as recorded by him. Since the 1915 revision (Staatsblad 1915 No. 732), the latest revision of Dutch East Indies Criminal Code, the hanging using long drop method instead of short drop. The effect, however, only applied to the criminals sentenced after 1918. After the independence of Indonesia, the Dutch East Indies Criminal Code turned into Indonesian Criminal Code by passage of Law No. 1/1946 (Regulations of Criminal Laws), with many changes of irrelevant aspects of the former Dutch East Indies to Indonesia. However, the hanging part still retained and enshrined at the Article No. 11 of both the former Dutch East Indies Criminal Code and the later Indonesia Criminal Code.

The hanging later replaced after Indonesia fell into Japanese Occupation Forces during World War II. The Japanese Occupation Forces government issued Osamu Gunrei No. 1/1942 (Punishments in Accordance of the Law of the Armies) on 2 March 1942, which mandated that executions throughout Indonesia be performed by means of shooting. During the turbulence of the Indonesian National Revolution which resulted into divided territorial control of Indonesia between Netherlands-controlled and Indonesian controlled areas, the execution process divided also. In areas controlled with Netherlands occupation forces, the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration issued Staatsblad 1945 No. 123 (On Capital Punishment), which mandated execution with fire squad to condemned criminals, while in Indonesia-controlled areas used hanging to execute the condemned criminals. After the recognition of Indonesian independence, the criminal code still split into two between the Indonesian-controlled areas and areas formerly controlled NICA until 1958. Due to this, on 20 September 1958, the Indonesia Government issued Law No. 73/1958, to impose Law No. 1/1946 to all Indonesia, and since then Indonesia using hanging. The use of hanging retained from 1958 to 1964. On 27 April 1964, Law No. 2/PNPS/1964 issued to replace hanging with execution by firing squad. Although the Article No. 11 of Indonesia Criminal Code no longer used since 1964 to present time, the article however used to very extraordinary cases. The last known recorded hangings was applied to the Komando Jihad ringleaders, Imran bin Muhammad Zein, Salman Hafidz, and Maman Kusmayadi for their involvements in Cicendo incident id.html"_;"title=":id:Peristiwa_Cicendo.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:id:Peristiwa_Cicendo">id">:id:Peristiwa_Cicendo.html"_;"title="nowiki/>:id:Peristiwa_Cicendo">idand_subsequent_Garuda_Indonesia_Flight_206.html" ;"title=":id:Peristiwa_Cicendo">id.html" ;"title=":id:Peristiwa_Cicendo.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:id:Peristiwa Cicendo">id">:id:Peristiwa_Cicendo.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:id:Peristiwa Cicendo">idand subsequent Garuda Indonesia Flight 206">Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 Hijacking, firsts of jihadism-motivated Terrorism in Indonesia, terrorism acts in Indonesia. They were sentenced under very harsh anti-subversion law Law No. 11/PNPS/1963 (On Eradication of Subversive Activities) in 1981 and sent to gallows. With this law, Imran was executed in late 1983, Salman in early February 1985, and finally Maman in 12 September 1986. All of them executed at classified government facility somewhere at the foot of Tangkuban Perahu, West Java. The Law No.11/PNPS/1963 was notable as one of harshest laws ever made in Indonesia, as it ignored ''Lex posteriori derogat legi priori'' and '' Lex specialis derogat legi generali'' doctrines to any subversive activities and any activities deemed to be threatening the ruling government (written explicitly in Article No. 19, Law No. 11/PNPS/1963) and enabling the government to impose the harshest possible punishments for said activities (Article No. 13, Law No. 11/PNPS/1963), enabling hanging to be applied for criminals convicted in subversion acts. The Law No. 11/PNPS/1963 itself repealed by Law No. 26/1999 on 19 May 1999, 13 years after the last hanging.

Constitutionality

In 2007, the Indonesian Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia) upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty for drug cases, by a vote of six to three. The case was brought by prisoners sentenced to death for drug crimes, including some of the Bali Nine, a group of Australian citizens sentenced to prison and the death penalty for drug trafficking in Bali in 2005.

Statutory provisions

The following is a list of the criminal offences that carry the death penalty in Indonesia:

Criminal offences punishable by death based on Indonesia Criminal Code

Indonesia Criminal Code (Indonesian: ''Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana'') is Law No. 1/1946, and amended several times by: (1) Law No. 8/1951, (2) Law No. 73/1958, (3) Law No. 1/1960, (4) Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 16/1960, (5) Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 18/1960, (6) Law No. 8/1961, (7) Law No. 7/1974, (8) Law No. 4/1976, and (9) Law No. 27/1999. In the code, criminal offences can be punishable by death are:
*Attempt with intent to deprive the President or Vice-President of his or her life or liberty or to render him or her unfit to govern (KUHP Art. 104)
*Encouraging foreign nation(s) to wage war against Indonesia (KUHP Art. 111)
*Aiding or protecting Indonesia's enemies at war by means of:
**Aiding Indonesia's enemies by informing the positions of / relinquishing of / destroying of / damaging of military installations or posts, transportation facilities, logistic storages, or military war funding of the Armed Forces, included also attempts to hindering, obstructing, or failing tactical strategies for attack and defense (KUHP Art. 124 section 2, point a)
**Causing or facilitating riot, rebellion, desertion in the body of Armed Forces (KUHP Art. 124 section 2, point b).
*Committing fraud in delivery of military materials in time of war (KUHP Art. 127)
*Deadly acts against the head of state of a friendly state, including:
**Killing the head of state of a friendly state (KUHP Art. 140 section 2)
**Involved in the planning of treasonous or seditious acts against the head of state of a friendly state resulted in death (KUHP Art. 140 section 3)
*Premeditated murder (KUHP Art. 340)
*Gang Robbery or theft resulting in grave injury or death (KUHP Art. 365 section 4)
*Piracy resulting in death (KUHP Art. 444)
*Aviation crime and crimes against aviation facilities/infrastructures resulted in deaths or destruction of the airplane, especially:
**Unlawful seizure or defending the seizure or attempting to taking control an airplane in flight, without force and with force, and if the act were: (1) committed by 2 persons or more together, (2) as continuation of a conspiration, (3) premeditated, (4) causing grave injury to a person or persons, (5) damaging the airplane and threatening the passengers and the flight, and (6) carried out with the intention of depriving someone of one's freedom or continuing to deprive someone of one's freedom (KUHP Art. 479k section 2)
**Acts of violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight, damaging, or placing forbidden tools/goods or instruments that capable to inflict damage to the airplane (either in civilian flight or state/service flight), and if the act were: (1) committed by 2 persons or more together, (2) as continuation of a conspiration, (3) premeditated, (4) causing grave injury to a person or persons (KUHP Art. 479o section 2)

Criminal offences punishable by death based on Laws aside to Indonesia Criminal Code

Following criminal offences are not regulated in Indonesia Criminal Code, but in other laws. Violation of these criminal offences resulted in punishment by death.
*Unlawful import, producing, distributing, accepting, possessing, hiding, exporting from Indonesia, and misuse of firearms and/or other explosives (Emergency Law No. 12/1951)
*Economic crimes with the intent to hindering/obstructing government programs related in the matters of: (1) food and clothing, (2) national and public security, and (3) against national interest in countering economy imperialism and separatism in West Papua (Law No. 5/PNPS/1959). The economic crimes at that time were including the acts of (1) Smuggling, (2) Customs fraud, (3) Banking crimes, (4) Commercial crimes, (5) Securities crimes, (6) Financing and financial service crimes, (7) Brand counterfeiting, (8) Environmental crimes resulted in environmental damages which affected economy of population, (9) Corruption, (10) Economic criminal acts resulted in threatening national security, and (11) Economic criminal acts resulted in damages to Head of State's dignity.
*Economic crimes with the intent to disturb food and clothing distribution and equipment to produce food and clothing resulted in national wide chaos and disturbance in national economic system (Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 21/1959). The economic crimes at that time were including the acts of (1) Smuggling, (2) Customs fraud, (3) Banking crimes, (4) Commercial crimes, (5) Securities crimes, (6) Financing and financial service crimes, (7) Brand counterfeiting, and (8) Environmental crimes resulted in environmental damages which affected economy of population in which the criminal acts deliberately done with ill intentions, threatening and disadvantaging public interests, and the act performed for gaining enormous financial gains and advantages.
*Unlawful usage of, production of, distributing, import, possessing, saving, and/or carrying Class I psychotropic drugs for purposes outside of scientific purposes (Law No. 5/1997 on Psychotropic Drugs)
*Corruption under "certain circumstances," including repeat offenders and corruption committed during times of national emergency/disaster (Law No. 31/1999 on Corruption)
*Production, transit, import and possession of narcotics Class I or Class II exceeding 5 grams (of drug material not plant or chemical form) if involving production or import exceeding 1 kilograms (of drug materials in form of plant) if involving transit or possession or trafficking (Law No. 35/2009 on Narcotics)
*Gross violations of human rights (Law No. 26/2000 on Human Rights Courts), including:
**Committing genocide and crimes against humanity.
**Attempting and conspiring genocide and crimes against humanity.
**Being military commander (for military) or being leader or supervisor (for civilian) responsible to genocide and crimes against humanity.
*Encouraging or responsible in supervising children to actively contribute and/or involved in producing or distributing drugs (Law No. 23/2002 on Children Protection).
*Acts of terrorisms (Law No. 15/2003 on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism, and as amended with Law No. 5/2018), including:
**Terrorism acts causing damage and destruction to the national strategic and vital objects.
**Terrorism acts causing damage and destruction to the aviation transportation system and its infrastructures.
**Unlawful import, producing, distributing, accepting, possessing, and hiding weapons, firearms, ammunitions, and explosives for terrorism purposes.
**Using CBRN weapons for terrorism, including chemical, biological, and radiological and nuclear.
**Planning and encouraging people to commit terrorism.
**Attempting, conspiring, and assisting terrorism acts.
**Providing information and assistance from outside Indonesia to terrorism acts.
**Using force or threatened to use force
**Intentionally uses violence or threats of violence that creates an atmosphere of terror or widespread fear of people, causes mass casualties by depriving others of their independence or loss of life and property, or causing damage or destruction to National Strategic Vital Objects, environment, public facilities or international facilities.
**Unlawful import, producing, distributing, accepting, possessing, and hiding CBRN weapons for terrorism purposes.
*Sexual Assault against multiple victims (more than 1 victim) resulted in serious injury, mental disability, infecting victims with venereal diseases, causing damages to or causing dysfunction of the victim's reproductive system, and/or resulted to death of the victim (Law No. 23/2002 as amended by Law No. 17/2016)
*Development, production, obtaining, transfer or use of chemical weapons (Law No. 9 of 2008 relating to chemical weapons, Art. 14 and 27)

Offences punishable by death based on Indonesia Military Criminal Code

Indonesia Military Criminal Code (Indonesian: ''Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana Militer'') is Staatsblad 1934 No. 167, and revised and amended several times with (1) Law No. 39/1947, (2) Law No. 5/1950, and (3) Law No. 31/1997. It listed several offences that punishable by death. The offences are:

* Assisting enemies and causing disadvantage to Indonesia (KUHPM Art. 64).
* Participating in Rebellion (KUHPM Art. 65).
* Espionage (KUHPM Art. 67).
* Betraying promises during war and plotting conspiration (KUHPM Art. 68).
* Deliberately surrendered himself/herself to the enemy (KUHPM Art. 73).
* Deliberately surrendered during the war without giving strict orders, and suppressed the fighting spirit and disrupted the military community (KUHPM Art. 74).
* Committing serious criminal acts during his/her time as military commander, manager, or supervisor (KUHPM Art. 76).
* Breaking pact or treaty or agreement made with the enemy and acted against the law and siding with the enemy (KUHPM Art. 82).
* Desertion in war (KUHPM Art. 89).
* Committing rebellion in peaceful period, desertion, and neglect the prevention of war or crime while he/she actually able to prevent it (KUHPM Art. 133).
* Deliberately committed violent acts to a person or a group (KUHPM Art. 137).
* Deliberately committed violent acts to the dead, sick, and/or wounded in war (KUHPM Art. 138).

Criminal offences formerly punishable by death

* Subversion (Law No. 11/PNPS/1963, repealed by Law No. 26/1999). The law repealed due to historical use against anti-Soekarnoists and anti-Soehartoists, causing the perpetuation of both Old Order and New Order government. Repealed as part of the Reformation after the Fall of Suharto.
* Espionage and leaking information of state atomic secrets (Law No. 31/PNPS/1964, repealed by Law No. 10/1997). The law changed from death sentence to the imprisoned for life.

Execution statistics

Despite already become part of Indonesian justice system since the independence, the first civilian execution in Indonesia was performed in 1978. Oesin Bestari, a goat butcher from Mojokerto was the first criminal condemned with death penalty in Post-independence Indonesia. He was convicted in 1964 after murdered six persons, with all of his victims were his business partners. He was executed on 14 September 1978 in a section of Kenjeran Beach, Surabaya.

The second person executed was Henky Tupanwael, a street martial artist-turned-armed robber. He was convicted in 1969 after a series of armed robberies in 1944, 1957, 1960, and 1963. He also notable prison escapist, with three records of prison escapes. He was executed on 5 January 1980 at government gunnery range in Pamekasan, Madura Island. His execution was notable to feature popular Indonesian superstition at that time to deal with black magic practitioner possessing weapon immunity and delicate process to execute him. At his time of execution, government officials treated his place of death with unusual process. His execution pillar was bedded with kelor leaves and arranged in some way so his body dropped directly at the bed. Aside of black cloth to cover his eyes, red cloth was used instead. He also pinioned using coarse palm fiber ropes, but not tied to the pillar to ensure his body dropped to the kelor leaves bed. All was done by government officials to neutralize his immunity and make sure he died in the process.

The third person executed was Waluyo a.k.a. Kusni Kasdut, a former hero-turned-armed robber. Kusni Kasdut case was attracted significant media circus at that time, due to he was a hero of Indonesian National Revolution and his Robin Hood style robbery as he was committed robbery for distributing his gain to the poor. He was executed on 16 February 1980 somewhere near Gresik City, East Java.

In 2004, an Indian national was executed in Sumatra.

Indonesia ended a four-year moratorium on the death penalty with the execution of Adami Wilson, a citizen of Malawi, on 14 March 2013.

On 17 May 2013, three more prisoners were executed at Nusa Kambangan Prison on an island off the coast of Java. All three were sentenced to die for murder. Suryadi Swabuana was convicted of the premeditated murder of a family in Sumatera in 1991; Jurit bin Abdullah and Ibrahim bin Ujang were convicted of a joint murder in Sekayu, South Sumatra, in 2003.

Executions in Indonesia during and after Suharto era:

Foreign nationals

The people on death row include foreign nationals, all but one of whom were convicted of drug-related offences. These foreign inmates come from 18 different countries: Australia, Brazil, Mainland China, France, Ghana, India, Iran, Malawi, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

References

{{Asia in topic, Capital punishment in

Indonesia
Murder in Indonesia
Law of Indonesia
Human rights abuses in Indonesia