President Jokowi asked to review status of other convicts

Convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has been serving two-third of his sentence.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) was asked to review the status of other convicts in line with the release of convicted terrorist ustaz Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from prison at the Gunung Sindur Penitentiary, Bogor. LBH Masyarakat appreciates the government's move to release Ba'asyir for humanitarian reasons because of the age of the convict.

"LBH Masyarakat (Non-governmental organization of Community) calls on the government to review the status of other convicts, including death row inmates, who are old and may be sick, so that they can be immediately released," Director of Community Non Government Organization Ricky Gunawan said in a statement in Jakarta on Sunday.

He said that the policy was carried out within the framework of amnesty, because Ba'asyir had never applied for clemency. The precedent was considered very good because it opened the space for other aged convicts to get similar things from President Jokowi.

However, the space was estimated to be small, because for the Ba'asyir case alone it took a very long time and intervention from expert in constitutional law and the president's attorney, Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

"Even the release of Ba'asyir occurred at the time before the general election," said Ricky.

Even so, LBH Masyarakat still hopes that the government can form a legally binding guiding regulation on the age of prisoners. He mentioned that it was important not only in matters of human rights, but also as a form of orderly administration of justice.

The government can dismiss the notion that the steps to release Ba'asyir to win certain demographics in the general election.

"Such regulations will make the things that Ba'asyir now accepts can also be accepted by other inmates whose profiles are far from the highlight of the media," said Ricky.

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