poledriver
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2005
- Messages
- 11,543
Narcotics Agency BNN Pans Death Penalty Reprieve
The National Narcotics Agency on Friday aired its concern over the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke the death sentence of drug kingpin Hengky Gunawan, saying it could hamper the country’s fight against drugs.
“Without trying to interfere with the judges’ decision, we are deeply concerned with the ruling,” said Benny J. Mamonto, deputy on narcotics enforcement at the agency known as BNN.
“The ruling could send the wrong signal to smugglers, drug dealers and drug makers in Indonesia that they won’t face the death penalty, and even if they do they will see [their sentences] reduced.”
Hengky was arrested in Surabaya in 2006 on suspicion of involvement in the production and distribution of ecstasy pills.
A court in Surabaya sentenced him to 15 years in jail. An appeals court added three years to the sentence before the Supreme Court escalated the punishment, ruling that Hengky should be put to death.
However, the same court later canceled its own verdict after a demand for a case review and came back with a 15-year term.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision, rendered in August 2011, argued that “the death sentence is against Article 28, Point 1 of the 1945 State Constitution and Article 4 of Law 39 of 1999 on Human Rights.”
The decision was only disclosed by the court this week.
Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) aired his support for the court’s decision, calling it “a positive step toward Indonesia’s attempt to gradually erase the death penalty.”
Ifdhal argued that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
But Benny said drug trafficking should remain an offense worthy of capital punishment, arguing that the majority of countries around the world still view it as an extraordinary crime.
In Indonesia, “the material loss is around Rp 50 trillion per year [$5.2 billion],” he said, adding that the figure comes mostly from rehabilitation efforts to curb drug dependency as well as medical treatment for illnesses that stem from drug abuse.
“Right now there are 3.8 million to 4.2 million drug users [in Indonesia]. If we don’t tackle this together, it will damage our young generation on a massive scale,” the BNN deputy said.
The House of Representatives Commission III, which deals with legal affairs and justice, also plans to question the Supreme Court over their decision, one commission member said on Friday.
“The House Commission III will ask the Supreme Court about the matter,” Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said. “I am also pushing the National Police and the anti-narcotics agency to take a stance soon, something that is important in maintaining morals in the field.”
The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) called the ruling a bad precedent in the effort to protect Indonesian children from illegal narcotics.
“The judges’ consideration is too short, taking the decision in the name of the criminal’s human rights but degrading the human rights of Indonesian children,” KPAI deputy chairman Asrorun Ni’am Sholeh said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to the BNN, Indonesia’s illicit drug trade has reached staggering levels, with the latest measurements putting the industry’s annual value at Rp 42.8 trillion.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/narcotics-agency-bnn-pans-death-penalty-reprieve/548528
The National Narcotics Agency on Friday aired its concern over the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke the death sentence of drug kingpin Hengky Gunawan, saying it could hamper the country’s fight against drugs.
“Without trying to interfere with the judges’ decision, we are deeply concerned with the ruling,” said Benny J. Mamonto, deputy on narcotics enforcement at the agency known as BNN.
“The ruling could send the wrong signal to smugglers, drug dealers and drug makers in Indonesia that they won’t face the death penalty, and even if they do they will see [their sentences] reduced.”
Hengky was arrested in Surabaya in 2006 on suspicion of involvement in the production and distribution of ecstasy pills.
A court in Surabaya sentenced him to 15 years in jail. An appeals court added three years to the sentence before the Supreme Court escalated the punishment, ruling that Hengky should be put to death.
However, the same court later canceled its own verdict after a demand for a case review and came back with a 15-year term.
The Supreme Court’s latest decision, rendered in August 2011, argued that “the death sentence is against Article 28, Point 1 of the 1945 State Constitution and Article 4 of Law 39 of 1999 on Human Rights.”
The decision was only disclosed by the court this week.
Ifdhal Kasim, chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) aired his support for the court’s decision, calling it “a positive step toward Indonesia’s attempt to gradually erase the death penalty.”
Ifdhal argued that the death penalty is unconstitutional.
But Benny said drug trafficking should remain an offense worthy of capital punishment, arguing that the majority of countries around the world still view it as an extraordinary crime.
In Indonesia, “the material loss is around Rp 50 trillion per year [$5.2 billion],” he said, adding that the figure comes mostly from rehabilitation efforts to curb drug dependency as well as medical treatment for illnesses that stem from drug abuse.
“Right now there are 3.8 million to 4.2 million drug users [in Indonesia]. If we don’t tackle this together, it will damage our young generation on a massive scale,” the BNN deputy said.
The House of Representatives Commission III, which deals with legal affairs and justice, also plans to question the Supreme Court over their decision, one commission member said on Friday.
“The House Commission III will ask the Supreme Court about the matter,” Golkar Party lawmaker Bambang Soesatyo said. “I am also pushing the National Police and the anti-narcotics agency to take a stance soon, something that is important in maintaining morals in the field.”
The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) called the ruling a bad precedent in the effort to protect Indonesian children from illegal narcotics.
“The judges’ consideration is too short, taking the decision in the name of the criminal’s human rights but degrading the human rights of Indonesian children,” KPAI deputy chairman Asrorun Ni’am Sholeh said, as quoted by Antara news agency.
According to the BNN, Indonesia’s illicit drug trade has reached staggering levels, with the latest measurements putting the industry’s annual value at Rp 42.8 trillion.
http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/narcotics-agency-bnn-pans-death-penalty-reprieve/548528
