Indonesia set to release hundreds of prisoners under president’s clemency plan

By NINIEK KARMINI
Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is set to begin releasing hundreds of inmates from its notoriously overcrowded prisons after parliament approved the first stage of President Prabowo Subianto’s wide-ranging clemency plan.

The first group of 1,116 will begin leaving prisons next week and includes prominent rivals of previous President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term, as well as Papuan independence activists.

House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas made the announcement late Thursday after a consultation between the government and party factions in the legislature.

Subianto surprised the nation barely two months after he took office in October when he said he planned to grant clemency to 44,000 inmates nationwide. Past Indonesian leaders have rarely used their amnesty powers, which require the approval of parliament.

Analysts have cautiously welcomed Subianto’s sweeping plan, which could see the release of thousands of inmates and Agtas said would prioritize political prisoners and inmates with mental and chronic health illnesses, older people, juveniles and those convicted of blasphemy or insulting the country’s leader.

Among the prisoners set to be released are several prominent opposition figures, including Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary general of the country’s only formal opposition party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Kristiyanto, a former Widodo ally who turned to harshly criticize the former president and his family, was sentenced last week to 3 1/2 years in prison for bribery in a 2019 legislative seat appointment scheme.

Agtas said parliament also approved an end to criminal proceedings against former Trade Minister Tom Lembong, a onetime Widodo ally who broke with him during the 2024 presidential election to support political rival Anies Baswedan. Lembong was sentenced to more than four years and had been preparing to appeal before Subianto proposed him for clemency.

“Both have demonstrated service to the nation, and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation,” Agtas said.

The group also includes six Papuan independence activists serving prison sentences for treason. Agtas said they were released as the government considers their movement unarmed.

Authorities are expected to submit a second list of 1,668 inmates to parliament in the near future, he added.

Azmi Syahputra, a state law analyst from Trisakti University, urged Subianto to explain his decision in granting amnesty and abolition, especially for Lembong and Kristiyanto, who are high-profile politicians convicted in graft cases that he said cannot be forgiven by the public.

“Amnesty and abolition are absolute powers held by the president, but people are owed an explanation,” Syahputra said. “Failure to fully explain the reasons will raise questions in the public sphere that could have widespread negative consequences if not addressed comprehensively.”

The move could be interpreted by the public as a political agreement between the executive and legislative branches to relieve criminal liability rather than improve law enforcement, he said.

“This measure is used to free high-profile figures from a sentence currently being served for certain political interest,” Syahputra said.

A political analyst from Diponegoro University, Mohammad Rosyidin, viewed the clemency plan in the context of rights group’s criticism of Subianto, a former general with ties to the country’s dictatorial past who is linked to alleged human rights abuses.

“President Prabowo’s amnesty plan could be a step to dispel these perceptions and turned him as pro-democracy and a defender of human rights,” Rosyidin said.

Since taking office in October, Subianto’s administration has moved to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced to death or life in prison for drug offenses, back to their home countries.

Serge Atlaoui, an ailing Frenchman, returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed to repatriate him on “humanitarian grounds.”

Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off death row and returned her to the Philippines in December. In the same month, the government sent to Australia the five remaining members of a drug ring known as the “Bali Nine.”