Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country where the death penalty is still in force, strongly criticized yesterday (Wednesday) the new Israeli law establishing “the death penalty for terrorists”, whose critics point out that it is worded in a way that targets only Palestinians.
In a statement posted on X, Indonesia’s foreign ministry called on Israel to repeal this law and reiterated its “full support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for independence.”
He called the new measure “a serious violation of human rights and humanitarian law”
The law adopted by the Knesset on Monday provides that “anyone who deliberately or out of indifference causes the death of an Israeli citizen for reasons of racism or hostility towards a community, and with the aim of harming the State of Israel and the revival of the Jewish people in his country, will face the death penalty.”
In theory, the death penalty will also be applicable to Israeli citizens, but critics point out that because of its wording, it is very difficult to use against Jewish Israelis.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk assessed on Tuesday that the Israeli law violates international humanitarian law.
“Indonesia also calls on the international community, especially the UN, to take strong measures to guarantee that the guilty will be held accountable and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people,” Jakarta noted.
Three Indonesian cyanocrats, members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), have been killed in recent days in attacks in the context of hostilities between Israel and the Shiite group Hezbollah.
In Indonesia there are currently more than 500 people sentenced to death awaiting execution, according to rights advocacy group Kontras, which cites official figures. Of those, about 90 are foreigners who have been sentenced to the maximum penalty for drug trafficking, according to the Immigration Ministry and prison authorities.
Indonesia has one of the strictest laws regarding drug trafficking, but the latest executions, of an Indonesian and three Nigerians, took place in 2016.
