FORUM-ASIA has urged Indonesia president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to stop execution of a man condemned to death in accordance with United Nations General Assembly’s resolution on global moratorium on the use of death penalty. This punishment also "violates the right to life".

H.E. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Your Excellency,

We would like to express our deep concern regarding the death penalty imposed on Mr. Achmad Suradji, who is currently detained in Tandjung Gustan prison, Medan city, North Sumatra Province. We understand that his execution is scheduled this month, February 2008.
 
We believe that the death penalty should have no place in the penal systems of modern civilized societies since it is a violation of the right to life and constitutes inhuman or degrading punishment. We also believe that the imposition of the death penalty has been ineffective as a deterrent to crime. Moreover, considering the fallibility of many judicial systems, there may also be circumstances when innocent people are sentenced to death.

We would also like to note that there is a current global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty. More and more countries have come to realize the inherent illegality of the death penalty and that it contravenes the most fundamental human rights principles. In fact, the UN General Assembly adopted on 18 December 2007 (GA/10678), a resolution which called for the global moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The said resolution particularly stated that “there is no conclusive evidence of the death penalty’s deterrent value and that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the death penalty’s implementation is irreversible and irreparable.”

Therefore, we urge you to reconsider the imposition of the death penalty upon Mr. Achmad Suradji. We believe that Indonesia should set itself as an example to the countries and be the leader in the implementation of the global moratorium on death penalty. Indonesia, being a member of the UN Human Rights Council, should set a positive trend in Asia towards the promotion and protection of human rights.

We look forward for your immediate response to this case.

In solidarity,

Anselmo Lee
Executive Director