[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 25


INDONESIA:

Executions give RI law a bad name: Activists


The executions of three Catholics convicted of leading a deadly attack on
Muslims during sectarian strife in 2000 has further undermined public
trust in the legal system, an expert says.

Indonesian Legal Aid Institute Association coordinator Hendardi told The
Jakarta Post on Sunday he believed the executions of the 3 were
politically motivated.

"The government has used the law for its political interests and this will
have a considerable impact. The law will get a bad name because of this,"
Hendardi said.

Fabianus Tibo, 61, Marinus Riwu, 49 and Dominggus da Silva, 41, were shot
dead by firing squad early on Friday for their role in the killing of
between 70 and 191 Muslims in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 2000.

Human rights activists and Catholics had protested the executions and
asked President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to intervene in the affair.

"This is how we serve justice. If they were already convicted and all
other legal avenues had been taken; they had to be executed," Vice
President Jusuf Kalla told Antara in Washington DC.

"This is totally a legal matter, not a religious or ethnic one."

Hendardi said while the government could reject accusations the executions
were politically motivated many people believed the opposite.

"The government can say anything about (the executions) it likes, but the
facts show that they were politicized," he said.

While both Muslims and Christians have been arrested and tried for the
sectarian violence, no Muslims were given death penalty sentences, causing
some observers to accuse the courts of playing favorites.

Since the executions, human rights watchdogs have renewed calls for the
abolition of capital punishment in the country on the grounds that it is
in violation of the Constitution and international conventions.

The Constitution guarantees the lives of Indonesian citizens and promises
to protect them from forms of oppression.

The rights to live is also stated in the 1999 Human Rights Law and the
2005 Law on Civil and Political Rights.

A coalition of 7 human rights NGOs urged the government to grant more
clemency requests filed by death row convicts and establish a moratorium
on the death penalty.

They also called for the government explain to the public the reason for
the execution of Fabianus, Marinus and Dominggus.

The government should not have pressed ahead with the executions because
the 3 had one more request for clemency, the coalition said.

(source: Jakarta Post)