The initiative commenced with the transfer of Mary Jane Veloso, a death row convict from the Philippines involved in a drug smuggling case, followed by the repatriation of five convicts from the Bali Nine drug smuggling case back to Australia.
Most recently, the government also planned to repatriate Serge Areski Atlaoui, a French death row convict in the drug case, in early February of 2025.
This policy offered several benefits for Indonesia, including decreased state costs, enhanced international cooperation, and lessened burden on correctional institutions.
The government is executing this prisoner transfer scheme through a bilateral agreement in the form of Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) in Criminal Matters.
This scheme allows Indonesia to request the repatriation of Indonesian prisoners from the Philippines, Australia, or France, which are obligated to comply with Indonesia’s requests.
This policy is expected to be considered by other countries, particularly those where several Indonesians have been sentenced to death, such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
"Hopefully, we can also invite the Malaysian government and the Saudi Arabian government to negotiate in resolving the cases of our citizens abroad,” Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, remarked.
He emphasized that the repatriation of foreign prisoners prioritizes humanitarian considerations due to their death penalty sentences.
The United Nations (UN) has taken note of this transfer policy. Following the repatriation of Mary Jane and the five Bali Nine prisoners, the UN changed its status for Indonesia from "negative" to "neutral."
This change in status is quite an achievement, considering that Indonesia was once at the lowest point in the UN assessment in 2015, categorized as having unfair trials globally.
Additionally, the Indonesian government stands to gain further benefits from the foreign prisoner transfer policy by alleviating the state budget burden as it is obligated to cover the needs of prisoners in correctional institutions.
In 2023, the state budget disbursed to cover prisoners’ needs reached around Rp2 trillion (US$119 million).
This figure does not account for expenses related to healthcare, education, or recreational activities.
Thus, by repatriating foreign prisoners, the responsibility for their needs will shift to their respective country of origin, relieving the Indonesian government of this obligation.
The repatriation will also alleviate overcrowding in Indonesian prisons, which currently have a total capacity of 140,424 across 531 facilities in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, as of September 2024, the total number of prisoners and detainees reached 273,390 people, resulting in an excess number of 132,966 individuals, or 94.68 percent, beyond the capacity of prisons and detention centers.
From a diplomatic perspective, the legal framework for prisoner transfers between countries can foster mutual trust between those countries involved.
An observer of International Relations from Padjadjaran University, Teuku Rezasyah, assessed that wealthier and more democratic nations' state administrators would benefit more from this policy, as it would lessen internal pressure for prisoner exchanges.
Hence, this enables affluent countries to show greater tolerance towards various developmental challenges faced by developing countries. Provided that the prisoner transfer process is executed correctly, this policy can be deemed justifiable.
More detailed legal basis
Prisoner transfers are governed by Law Number 22 of 2022 on Corrections and Law Number 15 of 2008 on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) in Criminal Matters.
However, international prisoner transfers have not been regulated in detail in the two policies, highlighting the need to regulate the mechanism for such transfers with the latest law in order to provide legal certainty and dispel doubts about the provision of policies in the future.
The government has committed to immediately drafting a law regarding the mechanism for transferring prisoners. Currently, the draft bill is being processed at the Ministry of Law.
The academic text of the Bill on the Transfer of Prisoners prepared by the National Legal Development Agency (BPHN) of the Ministry of Law regulated the requirements and procedures for prisoner transfers, the mechanism for regulating requests for prisoner transfers, the principle of double criminality, and procedures that must be followed in the process of transferring prisoners, both to and from Indonesia.
Prisoner transfer requirements are categorized into two sections: those for transferring prisoners out of Indonesia and those for receiving prisoners into Indonesia.
Individuals seeking transfer from Indonesia should meet several criteria: they must be citizens of both the requesting and receiving countries, have written approval from the prisoner, and obtain approvals from the sentencing and receiving nations.
Additionally, they must provide documentation verifying the prisoner's citizenship, evidence of the prisoner's sentence indicating at least six months remaining issued by the authority in the sentencing country, and providing information regarding the prisoner's physical and mental health from the authority in the sentencing country.
Meanwhile, requirements for prisoners to be transferred to Indonesia include being an Indonesian citizen; obtaining consent from all relevant parties, namely the prisoner, the sentencing country, and the receiving country; attaching documents showing proof of the prisoner's citizenship; and attaching a judge's decision that has permanent legal force.
They must also submit documentation indicating that the prisoner's remaining sentence is not less than six months as issued by the authority in the sentencing country and present information regarding the prisoner's physical and mental health from the authority in the sentencing country.
Numerous other mechanisms related to the transfer of prisoners between countries have been compiled in an academic paper as a reference to pass the Bill in the future.
The government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are expected to immediately discuss the regulation. With more detailed regulations regarding the policy of prisoner transfers between countries, Indonesia’s legal standing will be strengthened, enhancing its respect on a global scale.
Related news: RI, France discuss transfer of death row convict Atlaoui
Related news: Philippines ready to transfer inmate on death row: Mahendra
Translator: Agatha Olivia, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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