Jakarta: firing squads ready for 15 drug traffickers

No official date has been set, but death row inmates, five Indonesians and 10 foreigners, will be executed "in mid-May”. Mary Jane Veloso, a 30-year-old Filipina maid sentenced to death, was spared because her case is being prepared in the Philippines.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Everything is ready for a new wave of executions in Indonesia. No official date has been set yet, but the authorities have confirmed that 15 prisoners on death row will face the firing squad “in mid-May”.

Central Java police spokesman Senior Superintendent A Lilie Darmanto said that five Indonesians (a woman and four men) and ten foreigners (four Chinese, a Pakistani, two Nigerians, two Senegalese and a Zimbabwean) will be executed.

He did not cite any names, but some major drug traffickers are expected to be on the list. All is set in terms of firing squads, medical team and spiritual support.

“There are 12 members in each firing squad team. Ten short-range gunmen, one commander and one holding a flash light. In order for the execution to take place efficiently, the ‘event’ will be done simultaneously,” Darmanato said.

The executions will take place on Nusakambangan Island, near Cilacap (Central Java).

Indonesia has some of the strictest anti-drug laws in the world, to fight what President Joko Widodo has called a "national emergency." From 1979 to 2015, 66 executions have been carried out.

Last April, Indonesia was criticised for executing eight people, including two Australians.

On that occasion, Jakarta saved the life of Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, 30, a Filipina maid sentenced to death for drug trafficking. Veloso avoided the firing squad, because her case is still being prepared in the Philippines.

“We have discussed her matter with our Philippine counterpart and they have confirmed that her case is still in process,” said Attorney General HM Prasetyo.

• indonesia
• executions
• death penalty
• firing squad
• drug traffickers
• mary jane veloso