Bali officials have revoked the death penalty sentencing for an expat who has been proven guilty for smuggling narcotics into Bali.
A 31-year-old man named Emmanuel O Ihejirika from Sierra Leone, West Africa felt relief after knowing that an objection that was requested by his lawyer was finally granted by the Judge of the Indonesian Supreme Court, resulting in him being exempted from the death penalty that had been preciously sentenced in 2005, after he was arrested during his attempt to smuggle narcotics onto the island.
“The Supreme Court has changed the suspect’s death sentence to 20 years imprisonment, so he is scheduled to finish his jail time by 2024.” The suspect’s lawyer, Robert Khuwana said on Monday (13/9). Prior to his imprisonment, the suspect was arrested by Bali authorities for attempting to smuggle 461 grams of heroin into Bali through the Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport in 2004.
After being charged with 20 years of imprisonment in 2005, the Judges decided to change the punishment into a death sentence in accordance with the Supreme Court Decision on March 25th 2005. Surprisingly, after serving over 17 years imprisonment in the Nusakambangan Prison that is located in Central Java, the Judges of the Supreme Court once again changed their decision and charged the suspect with 20 years of imprisonment and a USD 70,422 (IDR 1 billion) fine. “We heard about this change in 2019, but we just finally received the official letter in regards to this decision a few days ago.” Khuwana concluded.
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Wayan Bo
Wednesday 15th of September 2021
Death penalty is against human rights and should be abolish. - Such strangers should be deported out of Indonesia.
Wayan Bo
Friday 17th of September 2021
@J West, heroin addicts need a medical treatment, in some countries it’s done with Methadonprogramm. If somebody infect others with Covid or AIDS she or he will also not get death penalty. Just compare it with penalty’s in The Netherlands, they also don’t have death penalty, there is no country in Europe that have death penalty. Only a few countries in the world hold still on death penalty and it’s not a compliment for them.
J West
Wednesday 15th of September 2021
@Wayan Bo, A heroin addiction is murder, a death sentence to so many children, so why isn’t anyone crying about the “ human rights” of the victims?
J West
Wednesday 15th of September 2021
This sets a bad precedent. An African heroin pusher should have been put up against a wall and shot immediately for the misery he brought.
Randy
Monday 20th of September 2021
@J West, Let's rewind a bit...it didn't go well with regards to the two executed Aussies drug smugglers of the Bali nine that became sensational news in Australia. Indonesia was disparaged for several months on after their execution in Bali. The irony is that around 1 in 20 Australians has an addiction or substance abuse problem. The long-term results are damaging to the brain and other organs. Prolonged substance abuse can become a major cause of mental illness.
Now fast forward, do you think the world would even care that an African national was put on death row for drug smuggling in Bali? That's the sad part.
Nevertheless a death sentence is not the answer to the drug smuggling problems be it here or elsewhere. Missed opportunities that could have been prevented from happening that have affected the young and vulnerable population at large.