Ba'asyir not to get Independence Day remission

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Saturday August 16 2014,


Firebrand Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has failed to meet the requirements to get one of the annual sentence remissions awarded ahead of the Independence Day celebration.

Ba'asyir has been incarcerated at the Pasir Putih Penitentiary, one of seven penitentiaries located on the notorious Nusakambangan prison island, in Cilacap regency, Central Java, since 2012.

Pasir Putih Penitentiary warden, Tejo Harwanto, told Antara news agency on Saturday that the penitentiary did not submit a proposal for Ba'asyir to get the remission.

The South Jakarta District Court declared Ba’asyir guilty in 2011 for his role in organizing a terrorist training camp in Jantho, Aceh Besar, in Aceh. As a result, the court ordered him to serve a nine-year prison sentence for terrorism.

Hermawan Yunianto, head of penitentiary division at the Central Java regional office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry, said that the government would award Independence Day remissions to 1,254 convicts from all six penitentiaries on Nusakambangan Island. There are no convicts being held at the Open Penitentiary.

“Out of the 1,254 convicts, 18 will get general remission II, so they can walk free from the prison,” he said.

He said remissions were given to motivate prisoners to show good behavior and join all the programs at a penitentiary.

The five other penitentiaries on Nusakambangan Island are Batu, Besi, Kembang Kuning, Narcotics and Permisan



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