Members of the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) demonstrate on Saturday (2/09/2019) in Surabaya, East Java. They demanded President Joko Widodo to revoke the sentence remission for I Nyoman Susrama, who was convicted for the murder of Radar Bali journalist Prabangsa. The remission is deemed a setback for law enforcement and press freedom in Indonesia.
Giving special remissions to convicts with life sentences should consider the sense of justice for the community. Not all convicts will be given remissions.
That was the statement of former law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra when he first introduced special remissions (sentence reductions) for convicts with life sentences to the limited sentences of 20 years. The government was selective. Then-president Abdurrahman Wahid issued a presidential decree regulating the provision of special remissions. (Kompas, 13/1/2000).
Without causing commotion, in 2000, the government for the first time reduced the term of three convicts who were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in premeditated murder cases. A number of other convicts with life sentences also enjoyed sentence reductions without obstacles and objections from the public.
However, public uproar occurred when President Joko Widodo issued a presidential decree that gave remissions to 115 prisoners with life sentences, including I Nyoman Susrama. The former member of the Bangli Regency Legislative Council (DPRD), Bali, was convicted in a premeditated murder case of Radar Bali journalist Anak Agung Narendra Prabangsa. Prabangsa\'s body was found in the waters of Padang Bai, Karangasem, Bali, on Feb. 16, 2009.
The granting of remissions to Susrama did not violate the law. The President has the right to give remissions and repeatedly reduce the sentences given by the previous government to other convicts. However, the granting of special remissions must listen to the sense of justice of the community, including a sense of justice of the victims or their families. The special remission is not simply to affirm that the correctional function is running. The inmates are looked after, return to being good citizens, with conditions of good behavior at least within five years after being punished.
There are many factors that must be considered by the government when providing the special remissions. The remission for Susrama was discovered by journalists of this country when they wanted to celebrate National Press Day, Feb. 9. On that day, President Joko Widodo finally canceled the special remission for Susrama, in accordance with the demands of the community, especially the press.
Violence against journalists still occurs in Indonesia. The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) said there were 64 cases of violence against journalists in 2018, an increase from 60 cases in 2017. Last year, M. Yusuf, an online media reporter in South Kalimantan, died while being detained by the prosecutor\'s office. Eight cases of journalist deaths in Indonesia, since 1996, have yet to be revealed. UNESCO in 2018 said 182 journalists were killed during the 2016-2017 period and reminded of the danger of impunity for perpetrators of violence against journalists.
The remission policy to Susrama, which was immediately canceled again by the President, shows the poor administration and coordination among state administrators. Not only is the sense of justice, which is disturbed, the legal certainty is also disturbed. Such a decision should not happen again.
