GOVT TO HELP 229 RI CITIZENS ON DEATH ROW OVERSEAS

Jakarta, 20 Rabi’ul Akhir 1436/10 February 2015 (MINA) – Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said the government would pay attention to 229 Indonesian citizens facing capital punishment overseas.

“Based on data at the ministry, a total of 229 Indonesian citizens are facing capital punishment. The majority are in Saudi Arabia and the second most are in Malaysia. They have been sentenced to death for drug and murder charges,” she said after attending a coordination meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the presidential office in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The minister said the President gave instructions to show the state’s commitment to giving optimum protection and attention to death-row convicts overseas, The Jakartapost quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“Our commitment is that the state is present in the form of legal aid, diplomatic assistance, including to those facing capital punishment,” Retno said.

According to her, the state’s presence could be shown in the form of hiring professional lawyers to provide legal aid, facilitating relatives to hold family meetings and seeking amnesty either from heads of state or victims’ families.

“So, we are committed to showing the state’s presence in the form of legal advocacy and other assistance to those facing death row,” she said as quoted by Antara news agency.

Many Indonesian workers, mostly from Aceh, have been prosecuted in Malaysian courts for trafficking drugs and marijuana to the neighboring country and many death-row convicts have been already executed.

In numerous murder cases, female migrant workers forcibly used violence in self-defense against their male employers when they were raped. In court, however, the workers were accused of murder and sentenced to death.(T/P009/R03)