Death by firing squad challenged
Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
October 02, 2006

While religious and human rights activists are pushing for an end to capital punishment, lawyers for the executed Poso trio and the three Bali bombers on death row are calling for a change in way executions are carried out.
Speaking at a discussion here Saturday, they argued the execution of death row convicts by a firing squad was "inhuman" and against constitutionally guaranteed religious rights.
Lawyers for the two groups demanded the government review the 1964 law that regulates the application of the death penalty.
Alamsyah Hanafiah, a lawyer for Fabianus Tibo, Marianus Riwu and Dominggus da Silva -- the three Christians who were executed last week in Central Sulawesi -- said death by lethal injection was the most appropriate way for convicts to die because convicts were put to sleep first.
"Being injected is more humane, as the convict does not know the exact time he will die," Alamsyah said. Many religions taught believers that they would never know their exact time of death, he said.
The three Christian men were sentenced to death for their roles in instigating and leading an attack on Muslims in the religiously divided town of Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 2000.
The families of the men, their lawyers, human rights activists and lawmakers have accused the authorities of acting illegally when executing the three on Sept. 22.
There also have been allegations the trio were beaten and tortured before being shot dead after bruising unrelated to the shootings was allegedly found on their bodies.
Achmad Michdan, a lawyer for Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas -- the three Muslim terrorists on death row for the 2002 Bali attack -- said the execution should be carried out according to the beliefs of the convicts.
Amrozi reportedly told his lawyers he was ready to be executed in a way that was in line with Islamic teachings.
Michdan said the three Bali bombers would file a request to the Constitutional Court to review the 1964 law on Oct. 8 or 9, as the regulation mandating death by firing squad was against the Constitution that protected people's rights to freedom of religion.
Amrozi and his friends also planned to file a request to the Supreme Court to review their convictions through the Denpasar District Court, Michdan said without specifying any date.
The lawyer argued that the three bombers could not be charged retroactively under the antiterror law because the crime they committed took place in 2002.
"The law was passed six days after the Bali bombings," he said.
Michdan denied reports the Bali bombers had chosen to be decapitated instead of being shot dead by a firing squad. "Amrozi never specified any such method," he said.
The lawyer said it was up to ulema to determine the most appropriate way to execute Muslim convicts. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), he added, had the authority to rule on this matter.
According to Michdan, Amrozi would prefer death by lethal injection. "Times have changed and so has civilization, I think we could accept injection."
Abdul Halim Ritonga, a senior prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office, said the government would consider changing the execution procedures but it would mean the law would have to be revised. "I think that's a good subject to be talked about further," he said.
However, until the law was amended, Halim said people should respect the existing punishment.
The government would go ahead with plans to execute 97 convicts currently on death row despite controversy over the death penalty, he said.
Halim said his office had sent letters to 30 death-row convicts, advising them to seek all available legal avenues to appeal their death sentences -- filing requests for presidential clemency and case reviews with the Supreme Court.