Gov't: 233 Indonesians facing possible death penalties in Malaysia

Gov't: 233 Indonesians facing possible death penalties in Malaysia

2011-06-22 00:09:15 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- The Indonesian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that 233 of its nationals are facing possible death penalties in Malaysia, making them the largest group of Indonesians facing death penalties abroad.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, who spoke at a hearing session with House of Representatives Commission I, said the number of Indonesians facing death penalties in Malaysia represent 76.9 percent of death row cases abroad, the Jakarta Post reported.

Out of the 233 cases, 177 Indonesians are currently being tried on death sentence charges in Malaysia, while 32 others have had their death sentences reduced to imprisonment and 24 have been freed.

In addition, since 1999, a total of 303 Indonesians involved in criminal offenses abroad have faced the death penalty, three of them already executed, including migrant worker Ruyati binti Satubi, who was beheaded by sword last Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Ruyati, 54, who had been working as a house maid, was beheaded after confessing to the murder of the wife of her employer. The family of Ruyati said it planned to sue the Indonesian government for its lack of legal assistance, but Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono said the government lacked options since Ruyati had confessed to the murder.

Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar previously said that 22 out of 316 Indonesians held in Saudi Arabia are involved in legal cases that could lead to execution by beheading.

On Monday, Indonesia's House of Representatives' Commission approved the Rp 4.6 billion ($534,000) budget to assist migrant worker Darsem binti Dawud Tawar who was convicted of murdering her employer in May 2009. The victim's family has pardoned her, but the situation continues to press because she would need to pay financial compensation by July 7 in order to avoid execution, according to Saudi Arabian law.

It is unknown how many executions are being carried out in Malaysia each year. Amnesty International said in a recent report that it was able to confirm that at least one execution was carried out in 2010, but indications are that other people were also executed.

In addition, at least 114 new death sentences were imposed in Malaysia last year. More than half of these were imposed for drug-related offenses, while nearly all the rest were handed down for murder. A guilty verdict for both offences automatically means a death sentence in Malaysia, where executions are carried out by hanging.

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