Today is Bali Nine ringleader Myuran Sukumaran’s 34th birthday.
We can imagine it must be bittersweet for the Australian on Indonesian death row in that we weren’t sure if he would make it until 34 before being executed, but the fear of being executed soon is still hanging over him.
This is one of the first times his mother Raji Sukumaran could not visit her son on his birthday, as he was transferred to Nusakambangan prison island from Kerobokan prison in March 2015 and Friday is not a visiting day on “death island,” according to News Corp Australia.
“Over the past few years we all have come to be so very proud of what Myu has achieved while inside Kerobokan,” Raji Sukumaran said as quoted by News Corp Australia, just ahead of her trip to Central Java to visit her son next week.
“Myu has started rehabilitation programs that have helped so many other prisoners. Myu has completed his associate degree and become a very talented artist, with his works being displayed now around the world. Myu has held art exhibitions to raise money to improve prison facilities and to fund the programs and has had a positive impact on so many people’s lives.
“We are very grateful to the Indonesian justice system for allowing this and we still hope and pray that he and Andrew will be shown mercy,” she said, clearly proud of her son.
Meanwhile, his supporters wished him a happy birthday on the Facebook page “Friends of Myuran Sukumaran.”
We still don’t know if and when Sukumaran and his fellow Bali Nine ringleader Andrew Chan will be executed. The Jokowi administration has been determined for executions of the next group of drug offenders to happen as soon as possible, and maybe even before the end of April, after the Asian African Conference ends. But, the Bali Nine pair’s lawyers are in the process of applying for a legal appeal and are begging the government to hold off on executions before the legal process finishes.
Photo: AFP
