Amnesty International Appeal

Amnesty International has launched an appeal to see the lives of Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas spared from the firing squad.

The appeal is attached in full.

AI Index: ASA 21/020/2008 16 October 2008

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

Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudera, who were convicted of involvement in the 12 October 2002 bombings on the island of Bali, which killed 202 people and injured a further 209, are facing imminent execution by firing squad within the next week.

In January 2008, police and court officials informed the three men that their renewed demands for a second judicial review had been rejected. The men appealed against this decision, but on 17 July the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected this appeal and announced that they had exhausted their right of appeal, stating only one judicial review is permitted.

The executions were due to take place in September, but were delayed for the holy month of Ramadan. Jasman Simanjuntak, spokesman for the Attorney-General's office, stated on 14 October that the date of execution will be announced on 24 October. However, as executions in Indonesia are usually carried out in the early hours of Friday morning, and the date of execution is never normally announced in advance, Amnesty International fears that the announcement will simply confirm that they have already been executed. Amnesty International is also concerned that the men will be executed despite their outstanding petition to the Constitutional Court, alleging that the method of execution by firing squad amounts to torture.

Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudera were sentenced to death by the Denpasar District Court in 2003. The law they were convicted under was brought into force in 2003 and introduced the death penalty for 'terrorist' acts, and allowed for those involved in the 2002 bombings in Bali to be tried retroactively. Under international law (Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights- ICCPR) and the Indonesian Constitution, a person cannot be tried under legislation brought in after the incident took place.

A pardon from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is extremely unlikely. All three men have stated that they will not apply for Presidential pardon. The President has also previously indicated in a television interview that he will not give clemency and will allow the process to be seen through to the end.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Death sentences in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad. The person under sentence of death has the choice of standing or sitting and of using a blindfold or cover for their head. Firing squads consist of 12 people, six of whom are supplied with live ammunition and six whose guns are loaded with blanks. The squad fires from a distance of between five and 10 metres.

To Amnesty International's knowledge, at least 107 people are believed to be under sentence of death in Indonesia. Eleven of these were convicted and sentenced to death in 2007. Indonesia has executed seven people since 26 June 2008.

In 2006, Indonesia ratified the ICCPR, which states that "every human being has the inherent right to life." However, the Indonesian authorities 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, in Bahasa Indonesian, English or your own language:

- calling for the death sentences of Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas and Imam Samudera to be commuted;
- expressing concern that the Law on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism, under which these men were sentenced to death, was applied retrospectively to include all those involved in the Bali bombings, violating international law and the Indonesian Constitution;
- calling on the Indonesian authorities to commute all death sentences in Indonesia;
- recognizing that Indonesia has a right and responsibility to address serious crime, and expressing sympathy for its victims, but pointing out that there is no clear evidence that the death penalty is an effective deterrent;
- calling on the authorities to sign and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and establish a moratorium on executions, as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty as advocated in the UN General Assembly Resolution of 18 December 2007.

APPEALS TO:

Please remember Indonesia is 6 hours ahead of GMT, and fax machines may be switched off outside of office hours.

President
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President RI, Istana Merdeka, Jakarta Pusat 10110, Indonesia
Fax: + 62 21 345 2685
+ 62 21 526 8726

Salutation: Dear President

Attorney General
Mr. Hendarman Supandji, Jaksa Agung, J. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta, Indonesia
Fax: + 62 21 725 0213

Salutation: Dear Attorney General

COPIES TO:

Governor of Bali
Governor Dewa Made Beratha
Jl. Basuki Rahmat Renon Denpasar 80361, Bali, Indonesia
Fax: +62 361 236 037

Salutation: Dear Governor

and to diplomatic representatives of Indonesia accredited to your country.

I am against the death penalty.

Executions in Indonesia

Executions in Indonesia are governed by the provisions of Law No. 2/PNPS/1964 on the Procedures for Carrying Out an Execution. Among other things this Law regulates the number of shooters to be in the firing squad and the distance the shooters can be from the condemned person. This is a team of 14 and more than five meters but less than ten meters, respectively.

The shots are to be fired at the heart and some members of the team will fire live rounds while others will fire blanks. This might sound like it lessens the burden of the shooters as they supposedly do not know whether they fired a live round or a blank.

However, I am reliably informed by a couple of former SAS soldiers that any soldier worth his salt can tell the difference between a live round and a blank. My guess is that the police officers of the Mobile Brigade that are tasked with this duty will also be able to tell the difference between a live round and a blank. The law does not stipulate how many rounds are to be live and how many are to be blank.

The Law also states that if the initial volley does not extinguish the condemned person's life then a single pistol shot to the temple is to finish the job. I would have figured if the firing squad were any good at their jobs then 5 or 6 shots to the heart would probably be a pretty instantaneous death as far as I can tell.

There will be an executioner. It seems the executioner's job is to lower the sword that signifies the shots are to be fired. I am guessing there will probably be witnesses on the scene, maybe a spiritual advisor, and a doctor to declare a time of death.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to be counting the days, hours, and minutes to your execution.

No Remorse rather Defiance

The happy-go-lucky murderous trio of Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas (photo is from AP and is of Mukhlas and Amrozi) continue to show no remorse for their actions that resulted in the deaths of 202 innocent children, women, and men.

To the contrary, the trio is proud of the horror that they perpetrated as this is what the infidels deserve. Samudra went as far as to say he would never apologise to the infidel.

In a move that they think will scare the Indonesian government into postponing the executions indefinitely, the three have guaranteed that retribution will be swift and furious if they are ever executed.

My personal opinion is that they have gotten a little carried away with their own celebrity and are overplaying their hand a little bit. The fact that these three convicted mass murderers have not been executed should be a source of embarrassment for the government of Indonesia.

Amrozi is not only not remorseful but confident that if he ever had the chance to do the same again he would without hesitation. The chances of jail ever rehabilitating him and preparing him for re-integration to the community is somewhere between zero and a snowflake's chance in hell.

The other claim these wanna be warriors of Allah are making is that any one involved in the execution will be forever condemned by God. Interesting that God does not condemn three men who ripped away the lives of so many in the name of their religion.

If this thought of eternal condemnation spooks the firing squad, I am sure there will be a line of people willing to take the shots themselves, and with no real care whether the three die quickly or slowly and in considerable pain. For many the pain of their losses on 12 October 2002 is still raw.

These men still believe that there was honour in their actions. I am yet to hear any justification that makes sense that these are the actions of honourable men. More to the point, all the talk now seems to be about avoiding the execution that they have been sentenced to. Where is the bravery now? I would have thought that the sooner the execution the better as you will be with God and a martyr to the cause.

These men are cowards of the highest order they are prepared to send innocents to their deaths but they are not prepared to die in the name of the cause themselves. It is strange that they think themselves to be so special, the chosen ones.

Even more interesting is that the three do not think that they will be executed this year! I wonder do they know something that the rest of us do not know. After all it was the Minister of Law and Human Rights that said that these three would be executed immediately after Eid ul-Fitr. It is time for the Indonesian Government to ante up and do what is required by law to be done.

Bali Bombers, Eid ul-Fitr, and Remorse

The three Bali Bombers that are destined for the firing squad in the very near future, perhaps in just days, have expressed no remorse about their actions and the deaths of 202 innocent people. Amrozi, Samudra, and Muklhas have stated unequivocally that they have no regrets for the bombings of 12 October 2002.

The bombings were designed to punish the US and its allies. Seeing that the majority of those that died were allies of the US then the objective was achieved. Samudra is the most vocal of the three, always has been, and he added that he will never have any regrets. Unfortunately for him, he won't have too much longer to hold that thought. The three of them then offered their support and praise for the recent bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Pakistan.

The time is nigh and the end is ever-closer. You will soon know if Allah is pleased and has prepared the legendary 72 virgins for your eternal pleasure. Then again, if Islam is a religion of peace and abhors the slaying of the innocent then I cannot see your eternity being all that enjoyable!

I would still prefer that they rot in prison but it is not within my power to make that call. So, 'selamat jalan' and may God have mercy on your misguided and murderous souls (yes, the very mercy you did not show 202 innocent souls on 12 October 2002).

Executions in the Air

The chance of an imminent execution for Amrozi, Samudera, and Mukhlas or as they are better known the Bali Bombers sentenced to death for their role in the first Bali Bombings, has seen an influx of journalists to Nusakambangan. The list of journalists includes both local and foreign journalists. This sudden influx has meant that accommodation is scarce on the island.

To date some 120 or so journalists have made the trip to get some coverage of what is expected to be these three mass murderer's final Lebaran. It is expected that the necessary paperwork will be finalized over the coming days and the firing squad will be assembled.

Amrozi, Samudra, Mukhlas

The public desire to see the sentence handed-down against Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas carried out has not reached fever pitch just yet. But, it is worth noting that the Attorney General, Herman Supandji, is coming under much more regular questioning about when the sentence is likely to be carried out. With a bit of luck this extra pressure will force the government into making sure the process is not being stalled for whatever reason.

The Attorney General is currently hiding behind the bureaucratic excuse that the requisite paperwork has not made its way from the courts, to the jail, and then to the OPP. This is convenient, but the government has been talking itself into a bit of a corner when it has said that it intends to ensure that the verdict is carried out before the start of the fasting month on 1 September.

By my reckoning there is less than 13 days to get the paperwork in order and get the deed done. If the bureaucracy fails to come through before 1 September, then I would imagine that a substantial lobby will form to ensure that the first thing the government does on 3 October after the Eid ul-Fitr is to see these three murderers put to death.

Just so none of you are confused here and try and read some hypocrisy into my rants. I am against the death penalty. My personal belief is that these three should rot in prison for the term of their natural lives. However, the sentence is what it is. If the death penalty is not going to apply, then it applies to none. But, if it is going to apply then it must be carried out in the same manner for all.

Thus endeth the sermon!

Enjoy your week.

Beheading the Bali Bombers

The Bali Bombers; Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas, have instructed their lawyers to lodge an appeal with the Constitutional Court. The basis of this appeal is that execution by firing squad is a cruel and inhumane form of execution. The arguments in support of this rely on the botched execution of Muhammad Tubagus Yusuf Maulana (Usep) on 10 March 2008. Usep was executed by firing squad and did not die for 10 minutes. The question here is whether the firing squad is inhumane or whether those tasked with the duty of executing Usep were just poor shots?

The Constitutional Court decision is likely to be handed-down fairly quickly as the government intends to execute the three before 1 September. The fasting month of Ramadan is scheduled to start on 1 September and it is unlikely that the government would execute them on the first day of Ramadan. So, if the executions do not happen before 1 September then they are likely to be postponed until at least early October.

The team of lawyers representing the three also seem to be basing their arguments on the fact that beheading is permitted in Sharia Law. This is indeed true, however, Indonesian criminal law is not based solely on Islamic or Sharia Law and beheading is not the recognized form of execution for those on death row. Therefore, this argument to all intents and purposes is moot. The lawyers that form the Muslim Defenders Team (Tim Pembela Muslim / TPM) are better off arguing hard on the unconstitutionality of the form of execution rather than the right of Muslims to be executed by beheading. Once again this right is not explicitly recognized in Indonesian law.

Interestingly, if the Constitutional Court is true to form in this respect, even if they were to decide in favour of the application, the decision must only apply from the date of the decision and cannot apply retrospectively. Therefore, because the firing squad was constitutional at the time the sentences were handed-down, then these three can still be executed in this manner. However, going forward the government would be required to put into place an alternative form of execution. This would probably be lethal injection. The former Attorney General, Abdul Rahman Saleh, alluded to such a change before stepping down from the position to take up an Ambassadorial post.

One of the lawyers from the TPM has allegedly suggested that France still permits the beheading of prisoners. However, my understanding is that the French abolished the death penalty in 1981 and I have not heard of it being revived of late as an acceptable form of punishment. I guess I will have to do some more research on this unless one of my readers points me to a source.

The end result is that "dead is dead". Nevertheless, I do not see why these individuals should get any special treatment in comparison to other death row inmates. Their crimes were abhorrent and the punishment, irrespective of whether I agree with it or not, has been handed-down. As soon as the government and the courts entertain regulating punishments on religious beliefs then to ensure fairness then all religions must be able to dictate the forms of punishments that are acceptable. I am not sure that this is the way that Indonesia wants to go.

I have posted on the Bali Bombers before, but once again, the moment of truth is forever getting closer. These three murders will soon be meeting their maker, and my guess is that there will be no 72 virgins waiting for them but with a bit of luck an eternity of pain and suffering similar to that which they inflicted on the victims of their murderous deeds. I still feel that they should have been sentenced to rot in jail for the terms of their natural lives.

The photo attached here includes the following information: Aitape, New Guinea. 24 October 1943. A photograph found on the body of a dead Japanese soldier showing NX143314 Sergeant (Sgt) Leonard G. Siffleet of "M" Special Unit, wearing a blindfold and with his arms tied, about to be beheaded with a sword by Yasuno Chikao. The execution was ordered by Vice Admiral Kamada, the commander of the Japanese Naval Forces at Aitape. Sgt Siffleet was captured with Private (Pte) Pattiwahl and Pte Reharin, Ambonese members of the Netherlands East Indies Forces, whilst engaged in reconnaissance behind the Japanese lines. Yasuno Chikao died before the end of the war.

Hypocrisy?

The Australian Labor Party is against the death penalty. This is not one of the reasons or a factor in the reasons that I vote for the Labor party. I have traditionally voted Labor as the party of those of us workers struggling to make ends meet. Stupid, maybe! The coming to power of the Rudd Labor government is likely to test those core beliefs that I hold in Labor representing the socialist democratic ideals that I hold.

That said, this is really a post about the hypocrisy of the Labor party with respect to its position on the death penalty. Stephen Smith, the Foreign Minister of Australia, is going to be making representations to the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, about the Bali Nine. These representations are in fact a plea for clemency. This is merely a case of public relations where the government can later claim that it has done everything it possible can to save them from the firing squad.

The hypocrisy here is that the Labor party is against the death penalty but it is not going to be making any representations with respect to the Bali Bombers who are also on death row. I have written about the Bali Bombers in this blog a number of times (if you're interested search "Bali Bombers").

My view is that I am against the death penalty and my preferred option for Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas is that these murders rot in jail for the terms of their natural life. However, as they have been sentenced to death, then so be it! These killers are being afforded opportunities to appeal their sentences that in theory others might also have enjoyed but were never afforded the same opportunities to exercise.

The difficulty here is that most Australians would, and should, be aware and also understand that if you traffic or smuggle drugs into or out of Indonesia and you are caught in Indonesia then you are in trouble. Up the proverbial creek without a paddle, so to speak. The death penalty applies; no ifs, no buts, and no maybes. If you play Russian Roulette and get caught, you die! You take the risk then you know what the consequences are.

The simple reality here is that Australia could much more easily adopt the high moral ground here if it was uniformly against the death penalty no matter who the convicted persons are. This would include the Bali Bombers.

The warm fuzzy feeling that one might get when they know that the Australian government is making representations on their behalf quickly evaporates when the cold hard reality sets in that these representations equate to nothing more than the government saying the same crime in Australia would not be subject to the death penalty. These representations might just be more effective if Australia was serious in its opposition to the death penalty and not just paying lip service to the issue.

The idea that Australia is vocal in its opposition to the Iranian government's policy of executing children need not be cited as some form of achievement. State sanctioned murder is abhorrent at any time and the fact that this punishment is meted out on children is particularly abhorrent. Th need to oppose it goes without saying.

Australia needs to step up to the plate and make clear that it opposes the death penalty on all crimes. Australia can still respect the sovereignty of Indonesia as a State without having to accept the death penalty. I know the international legal arguments that can be made here with respect to States that are already imposing the death penalty have a right to continue to do so. Nevertheless, a representation from a government that is universal in its condemnation of the death penalty will always be more effective than those representations coming from a government that wavers on the issue.

Bali Bombers -- More Appeals

It is a great and perhaps bitter irony that the Indonesian courts continue to entertain the endless appeals that these self-confessed criminals lodge or have lodged on their behalf. If they truly were keen to become martyrs to the cause then they would not have too much riding on the method of their execution.

The latest appeal seeks to have the manner of execution changed from a firing squad to a beheading as this is less cruel. The lawyers for Amrozi, Imam Samudra, and Mukhlas have challenged the firing squad as being an inhumane method of execution. These three terrorists did not give much thought to the humanity in the manner of their execution of 200 plus innocent civilians. So, this begs the question, "why are the courts continuing to entertain these appeals and why doesn't Indonesia just get on with the show and execute these felons?"

If they want to be beheaded then so be it. I would think that there would be plenty of people lining up to take responsibility for swinging what would hopefully be a blunt sword.

I have written on this many times before, but it never ceases to amaze me that the judicial process when it comes to these three is bending over backwards to accommodate their every whim. Yet, the Poso Three were never afforded such appeal opportunities. I wonder if a Christian death row inmate could get their lawyer to lodge an appeal saying that the firing squad was unconstitutional and inhumane and that a crucifixion would be a more religiously acceptable means of execution?

For the victims and their families -- the process is long and drawn out but judgment day is nigh for these mass murders. Patience is a virtue. The Constitutional Court will not uphold the appeal. Yet, even if it was to do so it only changes the method of execution and not whether the execution takes place. It might delay it a little while as the State will need to train up a swords person for the task.