Najla Nur Fauziyah, Jakarta – The Indonesian non-governmental organization, Imparsial, recorded over 30 death penalties sentenced in the first half of 2024, based on the observation the group conducted throughout President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's 10-year reign.

"There are 33 death penalty sentences from January to June 2024," said Imparsial researcher, Kezia Khatwani, in a press conference held at Imparsial Office in Tebet on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

During Jokowi's first 5-year term, 221 people faced the death penalty. "And three waves of execution were conducted," Kezia said.

The first wave of exoneration was held on January 18, 2015, against 6 death row inmates.

The second wave was held also in 2016, on April 29, against eight inmates. "The third wave, on July 29, 2024, 4 death row inmates were executed," Kezia said.

Meanwhile, in his second term, from 2019 to 2024, 297 death penalties have been sentenced. "It is estimated that around 114 death row inmates are waiting more than a decade to be exonerated," Kezia added.

Based on Imparsial's monitoring, the death penalty is imposed for crimes related to drugs, homicide, terrorism, and rape. "If we break down the data, 260 out of 297 death-sentenced inmates were convicted of drug-related crimes.

Meanwhile, 30 of the inmates were charged with homicides, six for terrorism, and one for rape.

Imparsial believed the exoneration process of death-row inmates lacks transparency. "We're not informed who will be executed and when," Kezia said, adding that even the convicts who were going to be exonerated were not informed.

"Everything is abrupt, which we believe could affect the budget transparency of death penalty execution," Kezia said.

– Ervana Trikarinaputri, Petir Garda B

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1926760/imparsial-notes-297-death-penalty-imposed-during-jokowis-reig