The Task Force`s spokesman, Humphrey Djematan, in a press statement here Saturday, said the 72 migrant workers included 24 in Saudi Arabia, 23 in Malaysia, 22 in China, one in Singapore, and two in Iran.
The Indonesian migrant workers had primarily been convicted of murders or drug trafficking in those countries.
They escaped the death penalties thanks to the government`s efforts and diplomatic approaches made by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, he said.
To receive reductions of the workers` sentences or their releases, the Indonesian government often had to offer reciprocal moves for citizens of the concerned countries who were being held in Indonesia, he said.
Around 4.32 million Indonesian men and women work overseas, especially in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, due to poverty and inadequate numbers of jobs in the country.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa told Parliament in June last year that 303 Indonesian migrant workers had been threatened with the death penalty overseas during the past 20 years. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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