August 17 every year is a happy day for them because if they meet the requirements, they will get a reduced sentence or remissionPekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - The Law and Human Rights Ministry has proposed general remission for 9,082 prison inmates in Riau in commemoration of the 77th Independence Day of Indonesia.
"We have recommended remission for as many as 9,082 inmates in Riau, comprising 8,965 inmates, who will receive first general remission, and the remaining 117 people, who will get second remission," Jahari Sitepu Head of the Law and Human Rights Ministry's Riau office, stated here, Monday.
Sitepu noted that the second general remission meant that the inmate was proposed to be released immediately after the sentence was reduced by the granted remission.
He affirmed that National Independence Day always offered a momentum that the entire community awaited, especially the inmates in prisons and children's correctional facilities in Riau.
"August 17 every year is a happy day for them because if they meet the requirements, they will get a reduced sentence or remission," he stated.
He explained that the exact number of inmates to receive remission would be announced on Independence Day.
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Based on the types of crime committed, drug offenders received remissions the most, with the figure reaching as many as five thousand people. There were also offenders convicted of general crimes, corruption, illegal fishing, and so on.
"The Pekanbaru detention center is the work unit where most of its inmates, reaching up to 1,397 people, received recommendations on the remission grant," he noted.
This was followed by the Pekanbaru Prison, with 1,323 people, and Bangkinang Prison, with 1,280 people. Moreover, remission was proposed for 251 inmates of the Pekanbaru Women's Prison as well as 20 from the Children Correctional Facility.
The remission to be granted to the inmates would vary from person to person, depending on the sentence they had served.
For the first year, convicts, who had served a sentence of six to 12 months, would be granted one month of remission, while those, who served more than 12 months, would receive two months of remission.
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Furthermore, in the second year of serving term, they would receive three months of remission; while in the third year, they would get four months; for the fourth and fifth years, it would be five months; and the sixth year onwards, they would receive six months of remission.
Sitepu ensured that the general remission proposal process was free of illegal levies, as every recommendation process was automatically conducted with the Correctional Database System.
"The Correctional Database System will automatically propose remission if the inmate has fulfilled the requirements. Vice versa, the system will automatically reject it. Community participation is still needed to oversee and monitor this process of remission granting," he added.
As of August 11, 2022, the total number of inmates in all prisons and correctional facilities in the ministry's Riau Office's area reached 14,158 people, comprising 11,813 inmates and 2,345 detainees.
"Meanwhile, the capacity of prisons and detention centers in Riau reached 4,373 people. This means that there has been an excess of 324 percent of the permissible level of occupancy," he concluded.
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Translator: Frislidia, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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