"First, capital punishment is part of legal enforcement. Besides, I emphasize that that capital punishment is not against international laws," the spokesman said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Spokesman of the Indonesian foreign affairs ministry Arrmanatha Nasir has said that executions carried out by the Indonesian government of drug death row inmates is in accordance with, and not against, international laws.
"First, capital punishment is part of legal enforcement. Besides, I emphasize that that capital punishment is not against international laws," he said here on Thursday.
He made his statement in response to appeals by the UN and the EU to a implement moratorium on capital punishment.
Nasir added that Indonesia is forced to impose capital punishment on drug traffickers and manufacturers, because the country has become a target for drug trafficking.
Some 4.1 million Indonesians, particularly youths, are drug addicts, and some 40 to 50 people die every day due to drug abuse.
Further, drug abuse has resulted in state losses of Rp63 trillion annually, he said.
The death penalty has been seen as a positive law in Indonesia, and is not against the principles set forth in the 1945 Constitution, he explained.
Further, capital punishment is the final resort used to stop extraordinary crimes, including drug offenses, he noted.
Drug criminals have gone through the legal process, while drug victims have gone into rehabilitation programs, he added.
The foreign ministry has informed concerned foreign embassies about foreign death row inmates who are to be executed in the near future.
The attorney general's office has announced that 14 death row inmates face executions, including foreigners from Nigeria, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and India.
From Indonesia, drug kingpin Freddy Budiman is also on the list of prisoners to be executed.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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