Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will pardon around 44,000 prisoners. Justice Minister Supratman Andi Agtas announced this on Saturday, reports the Reuters news agency. The release of the prisoners, including activists from the island of Papua, is seen as an emergency measure to relieve Indonesia’s overcrowded prisons. In total, about 30 percent of the total number of prisoners are released.
The prisoners who are pardoned have been convicted of, among other things, defamation or hate speech. The group also includes many drug offenders. Most striking is the release of eighteen activists from the eastern province of Papua. Justice Minister Andi describes their pardon as “part of the attempt to achieve reconciliation” with the residents of Papua. He also said that the Indonesian government wants to make Papua “more peaceful.”
Papua came under Indonesian rule in 1969 after a controversial referendum supported by the United Nations. A large part of the population still strives for independence, but the Indonesian government has never intended to give it to them. Activism in Papua is therefore widespread, as in neighboring West Papua.
High penalties
Indonesia has an overcrowded penitentiary system due to high penalties for drug offenses and poor financing of most prisons. Partly due to the poor condition of the facilities, riots, outbreaks and arson occur regularly. For example, at least 41 inmates died in a fire in a prison near the Indonesian capital Jakarta in 2021. In 2017 and 2019, more than three hundred prisoners managed to escape from two different prison fires on the island of Sumatra.
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