Just after midnight in the early hours of Friday (29/07) Indonesia executed four people by firing squad - three Nigerians and one Indonesian convicted drug traffickers - on the remote Nusa Kambangan island (part of the province of Central Java). The government gave the green light for these executions, resisting fierce international criticism, as it remains committed to its "war on drugs". However, the fate of ten other inmates who were recently moved to Nusa Kambangan to face their imminent executions remains unknown.

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According to the Central Java Police Department, executions of 13 convicted drug traffickers - through firing squad - are being prepared and should be completed within a couple of weeks. Names and nationalities of the 13 people on death row in Indonesia have not been published yet. However, it is reported in media that three Indonesian prisoners have been transferred to the island Nusa Kambangan, the location where executions usually take place, on Sunday (08/05).

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This week Indonesia’s police arrested a foreign national in Jakarta in connection to the discovery of 2.2 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (meth) in a boarding house in Srengseng (West Jakarta). Jakarta Police spokesman Budi Widjanarko said that police action was taken based on intelligence about a syndicate that smuggles crystal meth into Indonesia from Nigeria. Reportedly, this syndicate is led by a Jakarta prison inmate. Recent history shows that Indonesian authorities are very strict on drug-related crimes.

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More and more signs indicate that Indonesia is about to have a new round of executions. Convicted Indonesian drug trafficker Merry Utami - who received the death sentence for carrying more than a kilogram of heroin - was moved from a women's prison in Tangerang (Banten province) to Nusa Kambangan Island (an offshore part of Central Java) this weekend. Nusa Kambangan Island is the spot where Indonesian authorities routinely carry out executions. Meanwhile, reportedly, the embassy of Nigeria was asked to visit four Nigerian prisoners at the Nusa Kambangan prison at the start of the week.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo has signed a controversial decree that introduces tougher penalties for child sex offenders in Indonesia. By replacing a 2002 law, Indonesia now introduces various new consequences for those who have been found guilty of sex offenses against children. The new penalties comprise the death penalty, chemical castration, life-long prison sentences, electronic monitoring (after release from prison), and the publicly announcement of the identity of the child molester.

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After five foreigners and one Indonesian citizen were executed by firing squad on early Sunday morning (18/01), diplomatic tensions have risen. Despite international appeals from Brazil and the Netherlands, the Indonesian government decided to go-ahead with the execution of six convicted drug traffickers, involving four men (from Brazil, the Netherlands, Malawi and Nigeria), and two women (from Indonesia and Vietnam). Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors from Jakarta.

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