[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Nov. 29



INDONESIA:

Anger rises over delayed executions


Uncertainty over the execution dates of the 3 men convicted of the 2002
Bali bombings has raised concerns in the home countries of many of the
victims.

Junior Attorney for General Crimes Abdul Hakim Ritonga said Wednesday that
his institution realized that the international community had a serious
interest in the executions of the convicts.

"The main parties that are uneasy about delayed executions are of course
the countries where most of the bombing victims originated, like
Australia, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom," he said.

He said that the governments of those countries had already sent letters
through the Foreign Ministry questioning the follow up on the death
sentences handed down to the 3.

"The letters have already been conveyed to us," he said.

He said the executions had been postponed because the Attorney General's
Office is yet to receive a copy of the Supreme Court letter instructing
when the executions should be carried out.

The court rejected the case reviews of Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron on
Sept. 24, while a case review on behalf of Amrozi was turned down on Sept.
10.

"Until today, the Denpasar Prosecutor's Office has only received verdict
letters and that is not enough for us to conduct the executions.

"We must go along with the rules. That's why we are still unable to
conduct the executions.

"Regarding the letters from foreign countries, we responded to the Foreign
Ministry that that kind of letter is very normal and should not be
considered as an intervention in Indonesian law sovereignty."

Gufron, Samudra and Amrozi were sentenced to death for the Oct. 12, 2002
bombings on the resort island, which killed 202 people.

They are currently being held at the Nusakambangan super maximum security
prison in Central Java.

All 3 convicts are reportedly affiliated with the Southeast Asian terror
network Jamaah Islamiyah.

The convicts' lawyers have filed a 2nd case review, a rare move as reviews
are generally only filed once, with the court, which has yet to accept or
to reject the request.

Should the Court decided to accept their request, the executions could be
delayed further.

Prosecutors are also still waiting to see if the convicts will apply for a
presidential pardon.

Ritonga said the three would be executed at the same time.

"So it will not raise fears in any of them," he said.

In August 2003, Jamaah Islamiyah was responsible for a bombing at the J.W.
Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, and in September 2004 for an attack on the
Australian Embassy. In October 2005, the group struck again in Bali.

(source: Jakarta Post)