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

JAKARTA Indonesia AP Indonesia is set to begin releasing hundreds of convicts from its notoriously overcrowded prisons after parliament approved the first stage of President Prabowo Subianto s wide-ranging clemency plan The first group of will begin leaving prisons next week and include prominent rivals of previous President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term as well as Papuan independence activists The announcement was made late Thursday by the House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas after a consultation between the regime and party factions in the legislature Subianto surprised the nation barely two months after he took office in October when he revealed he planned to grant clemency to inmates nationwide Past Indonesian leaders have rarely used their amnesty powers which require the approval of parliament Agtas commented the establishment is prioritizing prisoners with mental disorders the elderly critically ill and those convicted of blasphemy or insulting the country s leader Among the convicts set to be distributed 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 years in prison over bribery in a legislative seat appointment scheme Agtas declared parliament also approved an end to criminal proceedings against former Contract Minister Tom Lembong a onetime Widodo ally who broke with him during the presidential polling to endorsement political rival Anies Baswedan Lembong received a year sentence and had been preparing to appeal it before Subianto proposed him for clemency Both have demonstrated operation to the nation and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation Agtas mentioned The group also includes six Papuan independence activists who are right now serving prison sentences for treason Agtas stated they were disclosed the authorities considers their movement unarmed Functionaries are expected to submit a second list of inmates to parliament in the near future he added Source