Humphrey Jefferson

INDONESIA EXECUTED NIGERIAN DESPITE CASE BEING UNRESOLVED, WATCHDOG SAYS

August 1, 2017:

An official watchdog has found that Indonesia executed a Nigerian man last year while his case was unresolved, leading to renewed calls for a halt to a system holding hundreds of prisoners on death row.
Indonesia’s ombudsman found that Humphrey Jefferson was seeking clemency when he faced a firing squad along with three others in July 2016, meaning that he still had a chance to be pardoned. The four were all convicted of drug trafficking.
It is believed authorities are preparing for more executions and a group of prisoners, including Frank Amado, an American citizen, were transferred to “execution island” earlier this year.
Two UK citizens – Gareth Cashmore and Lindsay Sandiford, both convicted of trafficking – also await their fate on Indonesia’s death row.
“This shows that the attorney general did violate the law last year,” said Ricky Gunawan, the director of the Community Legal Aid Institute, which represented Jefferson and petitioned for the ombudsman investigation.
“They have been eager to organise a new round of executions, but this shows that last year’s proceedings were a mess. Because of the ruling they will have to be extremely careful if they choose to go forward.”