[JURIST] The West Jakarta District Court of Indonesia sentenced two drug smugglers to death after the National Narcotics Agency found them trafficking methamphetamine into the country. The 1,900 pound shipment was the largest quantity of meth ever confiscated in Indonesia, worth approximately USD $116.8 million. Hong Kong syndicate leader Wong Chi Ping and his assistant, Ahmad Salim Wijaya, attempted [Jakata Post report] to smuggle the drugs from the Philippines and hired three Indonesians and four foreigners for the cause. Despite the prosecution’s request, only Wong and Ahmad received the death sentence [AP report], while the other seven men received significant jail time. Chief Judge Mohamad Arifin stated that sentence was a necessary and just action despite its severity. The National Narcotics agency expressed plans to appeal [Fulton News report] the accomplices’ reduced sentences.

Indonesia’s use of the death penalty has been an international point of contention. In October Amnesty International reported that death row inmates in Indonesia have been denied [JURIST report] the right to counsel, beaten and coerced into confessions. A court in Jakarta denied [JURIST report] the clemency appeal of a French citizen sentenced to death on a drug trafficking charge in June. In April Indonesia executed [JURIST report] eight convicted drug smugglers said to be part of the “Bali Nine” smuggling ring by firing squad. In February a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged [JURIST report] the Indonesian government to halt all executions of people convicted of drug-related offenses. Another spokesperson for the OHCHR voiced concern [JURIST report] in January over the continued use of the death penalty in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.