Jakarta – The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) supports the move of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's government to expedite the execution of a number of drug convicts.

MUI deputy chairman Ma'ruf Amin said the council had in fact issued an edict to uphold the death sentence for serious crimes including drug trafficking.

"It's recommended that for certain types of crimes like murder or drug trafficking, the government should impose capital punishment," Ma'ruf said after a meeting with President Jokowi.

He said that especially for drug trafficking, the government must be swift in carrying out executions. "The effect has been very disastrous," he said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The Attorney General's Office is expected to carry out the execution by firing squad of two Australians convicted of drug trafficking, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

The two were arrested in Bali in 2005 for their roles in smuggling heroin through Indonesia to Australia. They have been on death row ever since.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/04/mui-backs-capital-punishment.html