JAKARTA ~

Attorney General H. M. Prasetyo said that 60 inmates convicted in major crimes are on Indonesia’s death penalty list.

There are still some 50 to 60 inmates on death row in Indonesia, Prasetyo stated here on Tuesday, on the sidelines of a meeting with Indonesian editors in chief.

Despite protests from a number of countries, Indonesia will proceed with its plan to execute these convicts, he added.

“We will not step back. We must move forward. Indonesia must be saved,” he remarked.

According to the attorney general, illicit drug-related crimes are no longer prevalent in only one country but have transformed into international syndicates.

Moreover, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appealed to managers of mosques to step up public campaigns against drug abuse as the country has declared a state of drug emergency in this regard.

“I urge (mosque managers) to intensify campaigns against the illicit abuse of drugs. We are now in a state of emergency over this crime,” the president emphasized while inaugurating the Mujahidin Mosque in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Tuesday.

The head of state further noted that Indonesia was in a state of emergency over drug abuse as the country has 4.5 million drug addicts who need rehabilitation.

Some 1.2 million drug addicts are in such dire conditions that rehabilitation is no longer an option for them. As many as 50 drug addicts die every day, and 18 thousand annually.

“So please educate people about the dangers of drugs in mosques,” he urged.

On the occasion, he also sought the audience’s stance on whether they agreed with death penalty being imposed on drug offenders, to which they responded positively.

“There are 64 inmates (convicted for drug-related crimes) on a death row. They sought clemency, but we rejected them all, despite pressure from all quarters,” he informed.

On January 18, six convicts were shot to death. These include a Brazilian, a Dutch, a Vietnamese, a Malawian, a Nigerian, and an Indonesian woman.

These six convicts were the first batch of people to be executed under the government of President Jokowi.