Attorney General HM Prasetyo

INDONESIA: DEATH PENALTY NO LONGER A PRIORITY

September 8, 2015: Indonesia hasn’t changed its mind on the death penalty – but it did say it’s no longer a priority.
Attorney General HM Prasetyo on September 8 said it has changed its priorities to focus more on program development, given the country’s discouraging economic conditions.
"We are now focused on supporting and assisting government programs on development. We cannot do all the big things at the same time. We have to decide what is our priority?,” Prasetyo told Rappler.
Prasetyo also denied that the change of heart is due to any outside pressure. "No pressure. We are a sovereign nation. We never give any pressure to other country, so we will not let other country do the same thing. We are a big country,” he said.
But Prasetyo also clarified that just because it is not on top of their list right now, it does not mean the government has changed its mind on its necessity.
“We are not going to change our position on that. Particularly with drug offenders, dealers and manufacturers. We are resolute,” he said.
He said this is especially true for those whose death sentence have already been meted out, and are only waiting for their executions. He did say however that even those are not the government’s priority, although he refused to call it a delay.
He said the government is merely “evaluating” the death penalty.
“We are examining some details,” he said. “We are focused on development right now. The AGO (Attorney General Office) will focus on that issue." (Sources: rappler.com, 09/09/2015)