Migrant Task Force Mandate Extended After Death Row Reprieves

Jakarta Globe, Arientha Primanita, January 07, 2012

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The mandate of the Indonesian migrant workers task force has been extended by another six months, a senior minister said on Friday.

“The president has given his appreciation for having been able to achieve an impossible mission, getting the death sentences of migrants commuted,” said Djoko Suyanto the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.

He said that the task force, known as Satgas TKI, has saved 64 Indonesian migrant workers from execution.

“Because they still have duties to attend to, [the task force’s mandate] will be extended by another six months,” he said.

Its current mandate would have expired today according to a presidential decree signed in July last year.

Satgas TKI, tasked with assisting and providing legal advocacy to Indonesian migrant workers facing legal problems, especially death sentences, was created following the public outcry over the execution in June of Ruyati binti Sapubi, an Indonesian maid convicted of murdering her employer in Saudi Arabia.

The team, headed by Mahtuf Basyuni, a former minister of religious affairs, has so far helped resolve cases in China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Malaysia and Singapore.

The team includes former National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri, former Deputy Attorney General Hendarman Supandji, former Foreign Affairs Minister Alwi Shihab, former chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) Kemala Chandra Kirana, former Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Abdul Latif and the head of the Indonesian Advocates Association, Humphrey Djemat.

Djoko said that in Saudi Arabia, 37 migrant workers were granted reprieves because of the actions of Satgas TKI. Eight were acquitted, and several had their death sentences commuted to 10 years in jail.

In Malaysia, he said, 14 people had been spared the death sentence, six of them were acquitted while the rest have had their sentence commuted to jail terms.

In China, 11 workers had their death sentences commuted to life in jail, while in Iran two Indonesians where also sentenced to life instead of death.

The Indonesian embassy in Saudi Arabia said in a release published on Thursday that they will continue to provide legal assistance to Indonesian citizens in trouble with the law in the Gulf kingdom.

On Dec. 13, the embassy signed a contract with a local attorney, Abdullah Abdurrahman Al Muhaemeed, while the consulate general in Jeddah is expected to enter a similar contract soon with local lawyer Khuddran bin Mufsir Al Zahrani.

Indonesia has at least 3.3 million citizens working abroad.

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