TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights (Wamenkumham) Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej dismissed rumors that a 10-year trial sentence in the new Criminal Code clause was deliberately prepared to Freddy Sambo to escape the death penalty.
Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej explained that a trial sentence of 10 years for death row convicts had existed since more than 10 years ago. This was when the article regarding capital punishment was tested at the Constitutional Court (MK) in 2006. At that time the MK’s decision was four to five. Five judges agreed to retain the death penalty, while four judges agreed to abolish the death penalty.
In that decision the Constitutional Court issued considerations that were binding or reason for falling, namely the death penalty should be considered to provide a suspended sentence of 10 years. Edward Omar said that the consideration stated that if a death row convict has good behavior, then the death penalty can be changed to life imprisonment or temporary imprisonment.
“This is in accordance with the vision of national Criminal Code which was passed on December 6, 2022. Then it was promulgated on January 2, 2023 with Law number 1 of 2023,” said Wamenkumham Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej in his official statement, Wednesday, 15 February 2023.
Omar said the vision of the national Criminal Code is social reintegration, namely that everyone who commits a crime must have a second chance for him to improve and not repeat it again.
This social reintegration is expected for convicts who are serving sanctions while receiving guidance from Correctional Institutions, they will return to being good and there will be social reintegration so that they can be accepted by society.
He said that if death row convicts are executed immediately, the vision of social reintegration will not be achieved and instead the articles in a law will contradict his vision.
“So why do we have a 10 year probationary period, yes according to the vision of the Criminal Code, namely social reintegration. What does it mean? When a judge imposes a death sentence, it is always accompanied by an alternative of 10 years’ probation,” he said.
Edward Omar said that many had prejudices that accused the 10-year probation in Article 100 of the Criminal Code for Ferdy Sambo to escape the death penalty. However, he emphasized that the thought and construction of Article 100 of the Criminal Code was not something that suddenly fell from the sky, but 10 years ago.
According to him, this is a middle ground. He borrowed the term used by Professor Muladi to describe this simple middle way, namely as the Indonesian Way, aka the Indonesian way of searching win-win solution between retentionists who want to keep capital punishment and abolitionists who want to abolish capital punishment.
“In the end, the government and DPR decided that the death penalty is no longer the main punishment, but a special punishment. What’s the specialty? One, he was dropped by a very selective judge. The second, was dropped with a 10 year trial. This is the specificity,” said Deputy Minister of Law and Human Rights Edward Omar.
The panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court previously handed down a death sentence to Freddy Sambo without any mitigating circumstances in the murder case of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat during the hearing to read out the verdict at the South Jakarta District Court, Monday, 13 February 2023.
Editor’s Choice: Thank Richard Eliezer Sentenced to 1.5 Years, Mother of Brigadier Joshua: He Was Used by God
