Indonesia’s stance on executions ‘clear’, says minister

By: 10 years ago

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi AP FILE PHOTO

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi asserted that she would not make any more comments on the imminent executions of nine death row inmates as Indonesia’s position on the matter had already been made clear and it has not changed.

“We have conveyed all messages. We have conveyed the Attorney General’s [HM Prasetyo] statement that Indonesia’s stance on the executions will not change. So I think we will not discuss this matter again,” the minister said as quoted by Antara, when she accompanied Vice President Jusuf Kalla to attend a meeting of four heads of states in Langkawi, Malaysia, on Tuesday.

Retno made the statement in response to a question on Philippine President Benigno Aquino’s request for clemency for death row inmate Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso during his meeting with President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the 26th ASEAN Summit.

Veloso, who was convicted on drug trafficking charges, is one of 10 death row inmates next on the list to be executed by the Attorney General’s Office. The other inmates are two Australians, namely Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, three Nigerians, namely Raheem Agbaje Salami, Silvester Obiekwe Nwaolise alias Mustofa and Okwudili Oyatanze, Zainal Abidin (Indonesia), Serge Areski Atlaoui (France), Rodrigo Gularte (Brazil) and Martin Anderson alias Belo (Ghana).