Jokowi open to death penalty review

JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said he would restore a moratorium on the death penalty if he won the backing of the people, after a spate of executions that drew international condemnation.
Jokowi declared an anti-drugs campaign soon after coming to power in 2014 and refused all requests for pardons from death-row drug convicts, ending a four-year moratorium.
But in recent months he has softened his position.
Asked in an interview with AFP on Monday whether he would consider a moratorium, Joko said: "Why not? But I must ask my people."
"If my people say OK, they say yes, I will start to prepare," he said.
A moratorium could be the first step towards abolishing the death penalty, a move which needs approval in parliament which has been discussing the issue for the past year.
However, Joko said it would be difficult to secure parliamentary backing without clear public support in a conservative country where voters are deeply concerned about high levels of addiction.
He cited a 2015 survey by a private pollster that found 85% of Indonesians support the death penalty for drug traffickers.
Since Joko came to power, Indonesia has hauled 18 people – 15 of them foreigners – before the firing squad for drug trafficking.
The president has insisted that the death penalty is part of Indonesia's law and serves as deterrent against drug trafficking. – AFP