President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has been urged to cancel the planned executions of drug convicts and review his capital punishment policy as authorities prepare for executions on Nusakambangan prison island, Cilacap, Central Java. Pakistani Zulfiqar Ali, one of the death row convicts, was transferred on Monday to a secluded prison on the island from a nearby hospital, where he had been treated for cirrhosis since May. Zulfiqar, 52, was picked up from the hospital at around 11 a.m. to be put in an isolated cell ahead of the third round of executions expected to take place this week. [continues 474 words]
It is still fresh in the memory when the Indonesian public witnessed fellow citizens holding hands in solidarity to ask the government to spare the lives of drugs traffickers months before the execution last year. The calls grew louder approaching the execution date of April 29, especially following the revelation of the convicts' identities. Leaders of Australia, France and the Philippines urged Indonesia to save their citizens from capital punishment. But no such actions are seen today, since the government has kept the plan below the radar. [continues 398 words]