Chandra Adi Nurwidya, Yogyakarta – The Foreign Affairs Ministry revealed on Thursday that 165 Indonesian nationals are currently facing death sentences on various criminal charges.
Of that figure, 155 are being prosecuted in Malaysian courts, said Judha Nugraha, the ministry's director of Indonesian citizen protection.
Other Indonesian defendants include three each in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Laos, and one in Vietnam, Judha said.
"Those 165 cases need coordinated legal assistance from our foreign missions, ministries, and state institutions of the central government to make sure that their rights for a fair trial are guaranteed by the justice system in those countries," Judha said in Yogyakarta.
He said the majority of the defendants have been charged with drug trafficking, which is punishable by death in Malaysia, while other troubled Indonesians are accused of murder.