At a meeting on Wednesday (December 4), the head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), Commissioner General Marthinus Hukom, stated that amnesty and rehabilitation are alternative solutions to overcrowded prisons and detention centers while still taking into account legal aspects and clear and measurable parameters.
"I support this plan because drug users are victims who need rehabilitation. However, the process of granting amnesty must be carried out properly," he stated when confirmed on Friday.
Hence, he suggested that the amnesty plan be carried out by involving other stakeholders, such as the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health.
The involvement of various stakeholders aims to organize rehabilitation for inmates in drug cases who will receive amnesty.
He also reminded that a comprehensive assessment be conducted by considering the capacity of rehabilitation institutions in Indonesia and the cost of rehabilitation borne by the state.
"This step is expected to reduce the load on prisons and detention centers and also provide an opportunity for drug users to undergo complete recovery," Hukom remarked.
On the same occasion, Secretary General of the Ministry of Law Nico Afinta expressed hope that the amnesty process with rehabilitation for inmates in drug cases could be implemented immediately.
After the meeting, Afinta called to prepare a small team to ensure the technical implementation of the program.
Meanwhile, Acting Director General of Corrections at the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections Ambeg Paramarta also expressed his readiness regarding the inmates' data.
He noted that the data would later serve as the basis for verification by the team and further investigation before amnesty was granted and rehabilitation was conducted according to the categorization.
The meeting was a form of commitment from the BNN, the Ministry of Law, and the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections to handle overcrowded prisons and detention centers in an integrated manner.
The excess number of inmates in prisons and detention centers caused mostly by drug cases has become a deep-rooted problem.
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Translator: Agatha Olivia, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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