Post by sclcookie on May 19, 2006 10:29:04 GMT -5
Indonesia: Bali bombers face execution
28 April 2006
UA 109/06
Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim (male)
Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (male)
Imam Samudera (male)
The three men convicted of involvement in the 12
October 2002 bombings on the island of Bali, are
facing imminent execution.
On 14 April, a spokesperson from the Attorney
General's office confirmed that the refusal to seek
clemency by the three men would mean that they have
exhausted all the legal remedies available to them and
that, as a result, they would be executed immediately.
The Bali Prosecutor's Office announced that it has
"completed preparations" for the execution and on 25
April was reportedly waiting for the Attorney
General's order to proceed with the executions.
At least 89 people are believed to be under sentence
of death in Indonesia, seven of them convicted this
year.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
cases, without exception.
Recommended Action
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
in Bahasa Indonesia, English or your own language:
- 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.
Send your appeals to:
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President RI
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta 10110, Indonesia
Fax:
+62 21 345 2685
+62 21 526 8726
Salutation: Dear President Yudhoyono
Abdul Rahman Saleh
Attorney General
Jaksa Agung
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1, Keboyoran Baru
Jakarta Selantan, 12130, Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
Background information to Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali
Ghufron alias Mukhlas, and Imam Samudera
The three men were sentenced to death by the Denpasar
District Court between August and October 2003 for the
Bali bombings, which killed 202 people and injured a
further 209. 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.
The men and their families have refused to seek a
pardon from the president. Samudera 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 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 on the death penalty in
Indonesia
Five people are known to have been executed in
Indonesia since 2004. Two men were executed in 2005:
Astini 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.
28 April 2006
UA 109/06
Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim (male)
Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (male)
Imam Samudera (male)
The three men convicted of involvement in the 12
October 2002 bombings on the island of Bali, are
facing imminent execution.
On 14 April, a spokesperson from the Attorney
General's office confirmed that the refusal to seek
clemency by the three men would mean that they have
exhausted all the legal remedies available to them and
that, as a result, they would be executed immediately.
The Bali Prosecutor's Office announced that it has
"completed preparations" for the execution and on 25
April was reportedly waiting for the Attorney
General's order to proceed with the executions.
At least 89 people are believed to be under sentence
of death in Indonesia, seven of them convicted this
year.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all
cases, without exception.
Recommended Action
Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
in Bahasa Indonesia, English or your own language:
- 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.
Send your appeals to:
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President RI
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta 10110, Indonesia
Fax:
+62 21 345 2685
+62 21 526 8726
Salutation: Dear President Yudhoyono
Abdul Rahman Saleh
Attorney General
Jaksa Agung
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1, Keboyoran Baru
Jakarta Selantan, 12130, Indonesia
Fax: +62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
Background information to Amrozi bin H. Nurhasyim, Ali
Ghufron alias Mukhlas, and Imam Samudera
The three men were sentenced to death by the Denpasar
District Court between August and October 2003 for the
Bali bombings, which killed 202 people and injured a
further 209. 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.
The men and their families have refused to seek a
pardon from the president. Samudera 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 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 on the death penalty in
Indonesia
Five people are known to have been executed in
Indonesia since 2004. Two men were executed in 2005:
Astini 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.