First Execution in Indonesia Since 4.5 Years and Muslim Militants Killed in Raid
Last Thursday night, a Nigerian drug dealer, imprisoned since 2004, was executed by firing squad near Kepulauan Seribu to the north of Jakarta's coast. This execution is the first since the execution of three Islamic radicals (who were involved in the 2002 Bali bombings) in 2008. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, counter-terrorism squad Densus 88 killed three suspected Muslim militants that robbed a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta.
Nigeria-born Adami Wilson was sentenced to death for drug smuggling in 2004. According to Indonesian media, Wilson was still able to run a drug distribution network from inside his Indonesian prison. In this manner, he tried to gain enough money in order to bribe his way out of the death sentence. There have been numerous examples that show that Indonesian prisons are centers of corruption. Prisoners can bribe guards in order to go outside the prison gates (such as former civil servant Gayus Tambunan, who was sentenced to prison for corruption in a high profile case, but was seen among the spectators at a WTA tennis tournament in Bali soon afterwards).
Although Indonesia is one of the countries that upholds the death penalty, international pressure has succeeded in toning down the amount of executions in Indonesia. Last year, president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in fact spoke out against application of the death penalty and ordered to change drug convict Meirika Franola's death sentence into life imprisonment. When it became known she was - similar to Wilson - also involved in an organized drug network from within the prison, public outrage emerged and Yudhoyono subsequently said to review his decision.
Currently, Indonesia has twenty prisoners who are on death row and whose appeals have been denied. The Attorney General's Office (AGO) plans to execute nine more convicts this year.
Another form of state violence was reported in Jakarta, where - during a raid - counter-terrorism squad Densus 88 killed three suspected Islamic radicals, who had robbed a jewelry store last weekend, in a fire fight. Indonesia's special counter-terrorism squad, that is trained by the CIA, FBI and US Secret Service, found 14 homemade bombs, five firearms, 34 munitions and 1.5 kilograms of gold. One of the killed suspects is also believed to be behind an armed bank robbery in Medan (North Sumatra) in 2010, which led to the death of one person.
To read a detailed analysis of Radical Islam in Indonesia click here.