Capital punishment in Indonesia
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Indonesia. It is enforced only in grave cases of murder, terrorism or drug trafficking.
Though the death penalty existed as a punishment from the inception of the Republic of Indonesia, the first judicial execution did not take place until 1973.
The Indonesian government does not issue detailed statistics about every person facing the death penalty in the country. In fact, "the search for precise figures is hampered by prevailing state secrecy over the death penalty." It is believed, however, that there are around 130 people, Indonesians and foreign nationals, currently (as of 2013?) sentenced to die in Indonesia. About ten new death sentences are handed down annually, though executions are infrequent. Many of the prisoners awaiting execution have been waiting for ten years or more. Four executions took place in 2013, the first since 2008. In 2014, no executions took place. In January 2015 six people (among them one Dutchman, one Brazilian, one Vietnamese, one Malawian and Nigerian) were shot for drug-related crimes. In April 2015, another eight men, including several Nigerian nationals, one Brazilian and two Australian citizens were executed, also for drug trafficking. Indonesia is well noted as "a strong advocate against the death penalty for its citizens abroad."
Prisoners spend often a long time in prison before their sentence is finally carried out. Usually their final appeal has been exhausted through the trial court, two appellate courts, and consideration of clemency by the President.
Prisoners and their families are notified 72 hours in advance of their pending execution. They are usually transferred to Nusa Kambangan island. They are woken up in the middle of the night and taken to a remote (and undisclosed) location and executed by firing squad. The method has not changed since 1964.
The blindfolded prisoner is led to a grassy area where they have an option to sit or stand. The armed soldiers shoot at the prisoner from a range of five to ten metres, aiming at the heart. Only three fire live bullets and the rest fire blanks. If the prisoner does not die, the commander is required to shoot the prisoner in the head with his, the commander's, own weapon.
In 2007, the Indonesian Constitutional Court (Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia) upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty for drug cases, by a vote of six to three. The case was brought by prisoners sentenced to death for drug crimes, including some of the Bali 9, a group of Australian citizens sentenced to prison and the death penalty for drug trafficking in Bali in 2005.
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