Indonesia executed two Nigerians, Samuel Iwuchukwu Okoye and Hansen Anthony Nwaolisa who have been on death row for dug offenses since 2001, in Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, at 11.30 pm local time Thursday night.
According to Indonesia’s National News Agency ANTARA, the two Nigerians were executed before a firing squad in Nirbaya area, Nuskambangan Island, where a prison for notorious criminals is located in Cilacap district, Central Java.
Their bodies were immediately taken to a nearby polyclinics for an autopsy.
Okoye was sentenced to death by the district court of Tangerang, Banten, on July 5, 2001 for smuggling in 3.8 kg of heroin to Indonesia through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. In the meantime, Anthony was given the death penalty by the same court on August 13, 2001 for circulating 3.2 kg of heroin in Indonesia.
Indonesian authorities plan to speed up the execution of at least 57 drug offenders, some of whom have been on death row since 1994.
The plan to speed up the execution of the convicts came up at a State Palace function to observe International Day against Drug Abuse and Trafficking on Thursday.
Attorney General Hendarman Supandji said there are 57 drug offenders on death row.
Records made available at the public prosecutor’s office show that since 1994 there had been 72 drug criminals on death row for narcotics offenses in Indonesia. Three of them had been executed, one has died natural death, five have had their sentence reduced to life, and one has received imprisonment reduction to 15 years.
The three death row convicts who had previously been executed were Ayodya Prasad Chaubay, Saelow Prasad and Namsong. They all faced a firing squad in Medan, North Sumatra, several years ago.
National Anti-Narcotics Body (BBN) data show that the criminal drug cases in the country increased from 17,355 in 2006 to 22,630 cases. The number of offenders was also up from 31,635 in 2006 to 36,169.
At present, the number of drug addicts in Indonesia, a country with a population of about 230 million, is estimated at eight million people. Some 15,000 of them die annually. A survey showed that illegal narcotics dealers operate in all regions in Indonesia. (27-06-2008 01:30:36)
Filed under: Law Enforcement | Tagged: drug offenses
