Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jun 2006
Source: Jakarta Post (Indonesia)
Copyright: The Jakarta Post
Contact:  http://www.thejakartapost.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/645

EXECUTIONS PREPARED FOR BALI BOMBERS, 16 DRUG TRAFFICKERS

The Attorney General's Office says it is preparing to execute three 
convicted Bali bombers and 16 drug traffickers sentenced to death for 
their offenses.

AGO spokesman I Wayan Pasek Suarte did not reveal when the bombers -- 
Imam Samudra, 36, Amrozi 43, and his elder brother Ali Ghufron, 46, 
alias Mukhlas -- would face firing squads.

The law forbids authorities from publicly releasing dates for 
executions until after the events, although the convicts and their 
families are informed in advance.

Pasek said the AGO had received preliminary approval from Justice and 
Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin to carry out the executions of 
the bombers at Nusakambangan Island, a heavy-guarded prison in waters 
off Cilacap in Central Java where they are on death row.

Normally, death row convicts are executed in jails in the 
jurisdiction where their crimes were committed. However, the bombers 
would executed outside of Bali for "safety reasons", Pasek said.

"The justice minister hasn't approved (the executions) formally, but 
thanks to our excellent relations with him, we can assure you that we 
have received a positive signal from the minister," he said.

Pasek said Imam, Amrozi and Mukhlas and their families had made 
formal statements they would not seek clemency from the President.

"That's why we are preparing all the necessary procedures for the 
executions," he said.

However, a lawyer for the terrorists, Ahmad Dinan, said the defense 
team planned to petition the Supreme Court to review the sentences.

A "legal loophole" would be the focus of the defense's request for a 
case review, Dinan said.

"The convictions have violated the Constitution Court's ruling that 
laws cannot be retroactive. Because the law on terrorism was passed 
after the 2002 Bali bombings, it should not be applied in this case," 
he told The Jakarta Post.

The Denpasar District Court sentenced the three militants to death in 
September 2003 for the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people, most of 
them tourists from overseas.

Pasek said prosecutors would also execute 16 of 43 men and women the 
state had sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

On Saturday, national narcotics agency head I Made Mangku Pastika, 
speaking at an event to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse 
and Illicit Trafficking, urged prosecutors to quickly execute 39 drug 
traffickers on death row.

His call was followed by cheers from thousands of people attending the event.

"Responding to the demand from Pak Made Mangku Pastika, I hereby 
clarify that there are 16 men and women who will soon face the death 
penalty," Pasek said.

Of the 43 convicts on death row, 13 are appealing their sentences, 10 
are filing case review requests with the Supreme Court and four 
others are waiting for presidential clemency.

Pastika said at least 15,000 Indonesians died of narcotics-related 
illnesses a year.

Two foreign nationals convicted of trafficking offenses were executed 
in 2004, and two murderers faced firing squads a year later.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman