When everyone was out looking for the missing AirAsia QZ8510 plane, Indonesia’s attorney general reportedly quietly delayed previous plans to unleash the death penalty for five or six prisoners before we reach 2015.
“It’s now December 29, only two days left [until the end of 2014] — you can count for yourself,” said Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.
This delay immediately made us turn to Bali Nine death row inmates in Kerobokan Prison Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Though they were not on the list up for imminent execution before the New Year, the two may be experiencing just a momentarily breath of relief.
Things have been looking pretty bleak for the pair since Jokowi squashed hopes of clemency when he came out earlier this month saying the death penalty serves as “important shock therapy” for drug cases.
Prasetyo reportedly attributed the execution delay to a Supreme Court ruling from 2013 that multiple judicial reviews can be submitted as new evidence comes in, according to the SMH. Gunawan Santoso apparently found out he was on the immediate execution list got a review put in on Christmas day, while two drug dealers got applications in on December 15.
However, the inmates shouldn’t find cause for celebration just yet: “It’s not that we’re in doubt. Once all the conditions are fulfilled, we will continue with the executions. That’s our determination,” said Prasetyo, as quoted by the SMH.
Photo by AFP
