[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL

----------------------------------

28 April 2006
UA 109/06       Imminent Execution

INDONESIA:      Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim (m)
        Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (m)
        Imam Samudera (m)

The three men named above are facing imminent execution. They were
convicted of involvement in the 12 October 2002 bombings on the island of
Bali, which killed 202 people and injured a further 209. The Bali
Prosecutors' Office has announced that it has ''completed preparations''
for the execution, and they could now be put to death at any time.

The men and their families have refused to seek a pardon from the
president. Samudra said from his death row cell last August that he did
not
need mercy: ''I believe I will die on the right path,'' he said. ''I don't
need
mercy in this world because God has forgiven me.''

On 14 April, a spokesperson from the Attorney General's office confirmed
that the refusal to seek clemency would mean that they have exhausted all
the legal remedies available to them and that, as a result, they would be
executed immediately. On 25 April, the Bali Prosecutor's Office was
reportedly waiting for the Attorney General's order to proceed with the
executions.

They were sentenced to death by the Denpasar District Court between
August and October 2003. They were convicted under the Government
Regulation on the Elimination of Terrorism, one of two presidential
decrees
which were enacted in the aftermath of the bomb attacks and were later
turned into the Law on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism (Law
16/2003). The law introduced the death penalty for ''terrorist'' acts,
which
were not further defined, and allowed for those involved in the bombings
in
Bali to be tried retroactively.

On 23 July 2004, the Constitutional Court ruled the retroactive
application
of the 2003 security legislation violated Article 28I(1) of the
Constitution
and was therefore unconstitutional, placing in doubt the convictions of
several people charged and tried under it. International criminal law also

prohibits the retroactive application of criminal law. This called into
doubt
the convictions of several people tried under the legislation, including
these three men.

On 12 October 2005, 500 protesters broke into Kerobokan jail in Bali,
where the three men were held at the time, demanding that they be
executed immediately. The three were moved to Nusakambangan Prison
in Java for their own security and to maintain order.

This case illustrates clearly that the death penalty does not act as a
deterrent. After these three men had been sentenced to death for their
part
in the 2002 Bali bombing, the resort island was once again the target of
two bomb attacks, on 1 October 2005, which killed 23 people.

Officials responsible for fighting terrorism and political crimes have
repeatedly pointed out that executions are as likely to increase such acts

as they are to stop them. Executions can create martyrs whose memory
becomes a rallying point for their organisations.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
At least 89 people are believed to be under sentence of death in
Indonesia, seven of them convicted this year. Five people are known to
have been executed since 2004. Two men were executed in 2005: Astini
(UA 303/04, 10 November 2004) in March 2005, and Turmudi bin Kasturi
in 2005. Both had been convicted of murder.

In September 2005, the Indonesian parliament took the necessary steps to
authorize ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political
Rights (ICCPR), which promotes the right to life. However, they did not
authorize ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aimed

at the abolition of the death penalty.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- calling on the authorities to commute the death sentences passed on
Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudera;
- expressing concern that the Law on Combating Criminal Acts of
Terrorism, under which these men were sentenced to death, was applied
retroactively to include all those involved in the bombings in Bali,
violating
international criminal law and the Indonesian Constitution;
- calling on the authorities to release comprehensive and up-to-date
information on all current death penalty cases in Indonesia;
- calling on the authorities to commute all death sentences in Indonesia,
as
they constitute the violation of one of the most fundamental human rights,

the right to life;
- urging the authorities to sign and ratify the Second Optional Protocol
to
the ICCPR and commit themselves to working towards the abolition of the
death penalty.

APPEALS TO:
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President RI
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta 10110, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 345 2685; 011 62 21 526 8726
Salutation: Dear President Yudhoyono

Attorney General
Abdul Rahman Saleh
Jaksa Agung
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1, Keboyoran Baru
Jakarta Selantan, 12130, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General

COPIES TO:
Chairman, national human rights commission
Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia
Jl Latuharhary No. 4B, Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310, Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 392 5227
Salutation: Dear Chairman

Acting Ambassador
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 775 5365

Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after June 9, 2006.



----------------------------------
END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
----------------------------------