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Indonesia Executes 4 More Foreign Drug Offenders

Indonesia executed four more drug traffickers this week. Another 10 were taken from their cells on the notorious Nusakambangan prison island at Cilacap, Central Java, and brought to the killing field. Without explanation, these 10 were taken back to their cells. In all, 16 coffins were ordered. Indonesia is not publicly identifying who is next.

Those killed included two Nigerians, a Senegalese and an Indonesian man.

Those executed on Friday were Indonesian Freddy Budiman, as well as Nigerians Seck Osmane, Michael Titus Igweh and Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke.

Michael Titus Igweh testified police "electrocuted his genitals." Humphrey Jefferson Ejike Eleweke has always maintained his innocence. [More...]

He was allegedly held without access to a lawyer for five months after his arrest, did not have an interpreter at trial and was beaten during interrogations.

Indonesia has also violated its own law. Relatives are supposed to be given 72 hours notice of the executions. Relatives of this group were only notified the morning of the execution.

Amnesty International outlines the illegal treatment the offenders received before and after trial. At least one of those killed had a pending clemency request which had not yet been ruled on. More here and in Amnesty's 2015 report.

Another problem in Indonesia justice, particularly for appeals: Indonesia doesn't record court proceedings and police don't keep good records. Appeal lawyers have little to go on.

Indonesians overwhelmingly support the death penalty. What else would you expect from a country where people flock to a newly opened toilet-themed cafe, where food is served in a latrine?

A toilet-themed cafe where customers dine on meatballs floating in soup-filled latrines may not be everyone's idea of haute cuisine, but Indonesians are flocking to become privy to the latest lavatorial trend.

Guests at the Jamban Cafe sit on upright toilets around a table where food is served in squat loos.

Just another reason to avoid Indonesia:

.... the country has one of the world's highest rates of open defecation -- defecating outside and not in a designated toilet -- a practice blamed for spreading disease.

Why is that? Because of the country's poverty level, there aren't enough bathrooms. Instead of tackling poverty, Indonesia is launching a new tax amnesty program.

Indonesia is also cruel in its treatment of animals. Protests are gathering over planned exports of cattle from New Zealand.

"Indonesian slaughter practices do not require the animals to be stunned before they are killed. This means that our cattle will have their throats cut while fully conscious and their suffering will be appalling.”

Indonesia rushes to execute non-violent drug offenders while it has ignored sexual assault -- "More than 90 percent of rape cases in Indonesia go unreported " because victims fear being blamed.

President Joko Widodo's solution: Act by presidential fiat, no need for a legislature.

In May, President Joko Widodo signed a perppu (presidential act) that allows courts to increase penalties for sex crimes, which include for the first time chemical castration and death sentence, after the media highlighted a growing number of attacks against children. Previously, the maximum sentence for a child sex offence was 15 years' jail.

Indonesia gives terrorist bomb makers but not drug offenders a second chance.

Carbon emissions in Indonesia have hit a new high.

Indonesia welcomed 6.9 million tourists last year. Is it because it's a great place to visit or because of its visa-free policy makes it easy? Indonesia has a no-visa requirement with 169 countries. Consider that ISIS this month declared war on Indonesia and Malaysia.

There are more reasons not to patronize Indonesia.

Thousands of child laborers work in Indonesia's tobacco fields. The country has more than 500,000 tobacco fields.Here's the report of how they are endangered.

Indonesia is on track to be the world's largest tobacco market.

The global tobacco industry has, with the acquiescence of the country’s government, used a mix of advertising, marketing and cigarettes flavoured with cloves and chocolate to turn Indonesia into a nation of smoking addicts – and one of the most valuable tobacco markets in the world.

“The Indonesian government is absolutely failing to protect the health of its citizens by allowing tobacco products to be heavily marketed across the country,” said Action on Smoking & Health executive director Laurent Huber. “They are favouring the interests and profits of Big Tobacco.” The end result is a looming public health disaster.

Another reason: The toxic threat in Indonesia from the country's battery recyclers.

Look how it treats those with mental health problems: it shackles them. Check out the Report: Living in Hell: Abuses Against People with PsychoSocial Disabilities in Indonesia.

“Shackling people with mental health conditions is illegal in Indonesia and yet it remains a widespread and brutal practice,” said Kriti Sharma, disability rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “People spend years locked up in chains, wooden stocks, or goat sheds because families don’t know what else to do and the government doesn’t do a good job of offering humane alternatives.”

In April, a 60 year old Christian woman was publicly caned in Indonesia for violating Sharia law and selling alcohol.

In my opinion, foreign companies should be wary of business ventures in Indonesia while Joko Widodo is President. His presidency has been filled with mistakes, according to the Indonesian press:

Expected to signal a new chapter for Indonesia's nascent democracy, the former furniture salesman has been blamed for several political mistakes since taking office last October, including a string of diplomatic disputes and the worst economic slowdown in six years.

Last year Indonesia was planning on building a new prison on an island surrounded by crocodiles.

There are beautiful beaches all over the world. Skip Indonesia and Bali. Visit the Maldives, Fiji, Mauritius, the Seychelles, none of which execute non-violent drug offenders.

And please don't buy anything that says "Made in Indonesia." Indonesia can tune out our voices of protest, but it can't escape the loss of tourist dollars if enough people participate in a boycott.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo says Indonesia has the right to exercise its own laws and the rest of the world should butt out. It also has an obligation not to engage in human rights abuses. And the rest of us have the right to refuse to visit Indonesia or have our dollars end up in a country with such inhumane and uncivilized policies.

I've been writing about Indonesia's excessive drug penalties and horrid prison conditions and calling for a boycott of Bali (and later, all Indonesia) for 11 years. I started the day Schapelle Corby got arrested. I've written about the Bali Nine since 2006, and so many of the other outrageous Indonesian drug cases. More than 70 of my posts about Bali from 2005 to 2015 are here. More recent ones are here. I'm not giving up.

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