Attorney General Explains Obstacles In Execution Of Convicts

Jakarta, Jan 28 (Antara) - Attorney General HM. Prasetyo explained the difficulties his office faced while implementing the death penalty of six drug convicts on January 18, 2015, at a meeting with House Commission III here on Wednesday. "The obstacles were in the form of time, location, and weather. We were looking for a place that was safe and that was in Nusakambangan, Central Java," M. Prasetyo said during the meeting with Commission III. He explained that the execution of six death row inmates were to be held in Thousand Islands, Jakarta. However, the execution of each convict cost some Rp 258 million; this was more than the allocated funds. "Rp200 million was earmarked for each convict," he noted. Prasetyo remarked that security and escort arrangements should also be considered while deciding the execution budget. If the execution venue is located far away, it adds to the budget. According to him, the executions on Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, was not considered too sterile for a settlement. In addition, he explained, the weather had also posed a problem during the executions. A Commission member from the People's Conscience Party Faction, Syarifuddin Suding, asked the Attorney General to evaluate the executions. "The Attorney General should not talk about the executions extensively because it can affect the psychology of the convicts' family members," he added. Five drug convicts were executed on the island of Nusakambangang, off southern Central Java, at 00.40 local time on Sunday, Cilacap police chief Adj. Sr.Comr. Ulung Sampurna Jaya said. He added that four of five bodies of the drug convicts were sent out of the notorious island at around 3.55 a.m. local time on Sunday. The four bodies were that of Dutch Ang Kim Soei (62), Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Mareira (53), Malawian Daniel Enemua (38), and Indonesian woman Rani Andriani, alias Melisa Aprilia (38). Four ambulances rolled out of Pengayoman IV, the ship of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which transported the cars carrying the bodies after they arrived at the quay of Wijayapura in Cilacap. The cars immediately left the quay with police guards. The bodies of Ang Kim Soei and Marco Archer Cardoso Mareira were to be cremated in Kalibagor, Banyumas regency, Central Java, and that of Namaona Denis was brought to Jakarta. The ambulance that carried the body of Melisa Aprilia proceeded to Ciranjang, Cianjur, West Java, where she was buried near the grave of her mother as per her wish. Ang Kim Soei's remains was to be sent to Malaysia and that of Marco Acher Cardoso Mareira was to be sent to Brazil. Namaona Denis (38) from Malawi was buried on Cilacap island, Ulung Sampurna Jaya noted. Meanwhile, a Vietnamese drug convict, Tran Thi Bich Hanh (37), was executed in Boyolali, Central Java, almost at the same time. Central Java police chief Insp.Gen. Nur Ali said after the execution that her body was sent to Semarang for cremation.