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Indonesia has started freeing hundreds of prisoners, including those convicted of political offences, as part of President Prabowo Subianto's first stage of a broad clemency initiative aimed at fostering national unity, as reported by Al Jazeera on Saturday. This move follows parliamentary approval of the first phase of the plan.
According to Al Jazeera, the initial group of 1,178 inmates was scheduled for release on Friday, following the announcement by Deputy Speaker of the country's House of Representatives, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas that President Subianto had signed a Presidential Decree granting amnesty. Just two months into his presidency, Subianto--once the son-in-law of former dictator Soeharto--announced his intention to pardon up to 44,000 prisoners, most of whom are incarcerated for political reasons, as a gesture to heal divisions across the country, Al Jazeera reported. Law Minister Agtas stated that the amnesty would prioritise political prisoners, inmates with serious mental or physical illnesses, the elderly, minors, and individuals convicted of blasphemy or insulting national leaders. Among those released was Hasto Kristiyanto, secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the country's only formal opposition party. Kristiyanto, a former ally turned critic of ex-President Joko Widodo, had been serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery related to a 2019 legislative seat appointment, Al Jazeera reported. He was freed Friday evening from the anti-corruption agency's detention facility in South Jakarta, where he had been held since February. Addressing a supportive crowd upon his release, Kristiyanto said, "We must learn from this incident," as quoted by Al Jazeera. The government also dropped legal proceedings against former Trade Minister Tom Lembong, another former Widodo ally who shifted his support to rival Anies Baswedan in the 2024 election. Lembong had been sentenced in July to over four years in prison for allegedly misusing his authority in issuing sugar import licenses, Al Jazeera reported. "Both [Kristiyanto and Lembong] have demonstrated service to the nation, and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation," Agtas said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Additionally, six West Papuan independence activists imprisoned for treason were among those granted release. Agtas confirmed that authorities plan to soon present a second list of 1,668 inmates for potential release to parliament. (ANI)
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