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Human Rights Commissioner appalled by execution in Indonesia
Federal Government Human Rights Commissioner Markus Löning today (20 March) issued the following statement on the resumption of executions in Indonesia:
“I am appalled that after four years Indonesia has now once again carried out an execution. The death penalty is an inhumane and cruel punishment. I know this is a view shared by many people in Indonesia as well. To condemn an offender to death for drug trafficking is also deemed disproportionate under international law.
I call upon the Indonesian Government to reinstate the moratorium and carry out no more executions. In the 21st century the death penalty is an anachronism!”
Background
On 14 March 2013 a 48-year-old Malawi national was executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking, ending Indonesia’s de facto moratorium in place since November 2008.
There had been no more executions in the country since the executions of three men convicted of involvement in the 2002 bomb attacks in Bali, as President Yudhoyono had regularly commuted any death sentences handed down. Indonesian Prosecutor-General Arief has announced that further executions will be carried out in the course of 2013.
