Photo: Illustration
Indonesian national Zainal Abidin has exhausted every legal option he has to save himself from being executed by a firing squad at some point in the very near future. With no other recourse left to him, he says he plans to take revenge on his executioners and their families… from beyond the grave.
Zainal Abidin, the only Indonesian citizen set to face the firing squad during the next wave of executions in Indonesia (along with Australian Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran), was arrested in Palembang, South Sumatra, in 2000 for possession of 47 kg of marijuana.
He was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2001. But after numerous appeals, his sentence was changed to death by firing squad. President Joko Widodo also refused to grant him clemency on January 9, 2015.
Zainal, who is now awaiting his execution at the Nusakambangan prison in Cilacap, Central Java, says he still cannot accept his sentence.
He wrote a statement on March 5 that was made public on Monday by his lawyer, Ade Yuliawan. In it, Zainal mostly complained about the unfairness of the justice system that led to his looming death.
However, the last two points in his testimony are spooky as hell. Here is an excerpt of Zainal’s written statement, as quoted by and translated from Merdeka:
7. I will forever seek justice in this world or the next against the arbitrariness of the law and anyone who wronged me and led me to my current predicament
8. If this execution is still carried out before I receive an answer for my last appeal, then my spirit will not rest easy. I will seek revenge on the wives, children, and the descendants of all of those in the justice system involved in my sentence.
We’d be surprised if Zainal’s death penalty conviction could be overturned because of this supernatural threat. But we bet his executioners will not be able to rest easy after they take part in his death.
Reader Interactions