5 Nigerians, 9 Others To Be Executed In Indonesia For Drug Trafficking.

Drug traffickers caught in Indonesia

Human rights group, Amnesty International, on Wednesday urged Indonesia to halt the imminent executions of 14 drug convicts, including five Nigerians.

The Group said the execution of the convicts would put Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s government on the wrong side of history.


Amnesty, on its website, said it received credible reports that at least 14 people could be executed this week. They included four Indonesians, a Pakistani, an Indian, a Zimbabwean, a Senegalese, a South African, and five Nigerians.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for South East Asia and the Pacific, Josef Benedict, expressed concerns that some of the prisoners were convicted in unfair trials and have not submitted clemency request to the President.

He said it was so unfortunate that Widodo could preside over the highest number of executions in the country’s democratic era at a time most of the world has turned its back on this cruel practice.

Benedict recalled that Indonesia executed 14 death-row convicts last year in a move that drew criticism from the United Nations and the European Union.

He said more than 121 people were on death row in Indonesia, including 35 foreigners, mainly for drug-related crimes.

President Widodo has taken a tough stance against drug trafficking since his election in 2014, saying the country is facing a drug emergency. 

Culled from Punch