Appeals for mercy rain on Prez Widodo

Cilacap (INDONESIA), April 26

Relatives of several convicts on death row in Indonesia made emotional last-ditch appeals for mercy on Sunday, adding their voices to foreign governments and the head of the United Nations who called for the group of nine to be spared the firing squad.

Indonesia this weekend informed the group of drug-crime convicts, which includes nationals from Brazil, France, Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines and Australia, that they would be executed in a matter of days, possibly as soon as Tuesday.

The appeals for clemency were directed at President Joko Widodo, whose determination to deal harshly with drug crimes has won popular support at home. The Southeast Asian country resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap and six convicts have gone before a firing squad so far this year.

However, Widodo’s tough stance has brought international criticism and has strained relations with several countries, particularly neighbour Australia. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Widodo on Saturday not to execute the prisoners and called on him to “urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition”. — Reuters