OVER 100,000 PRISONERS GET SENTENCE CUTS

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Aug 21 (ANTARA) - A total of 108,376 inmates have been granted sentence reduction on the occasion of the country's 67th independence anniversary on August 17, as well as during the Id-ul-Fitr post-fasting festivities this week.          Of them, 58,595 prisoners were granted sentence reduction on the occasion of Indonesian Independence Day, while the rest 49,781 saw their sentences cut on Id-ul Fitr.          General remission is divided into General Remission I and General Remission II. Inmates who get General Remission I have their jail term commuted, while those who get General Remission II can walk free.          There is also a 'Special Remission', consisting of Special Remission I and Special Remission II, which is granted to prisoners who either had their sentences commuted or were to be freed from prison.          Of the 56,349 prisoners who were granted sentence cuts, 2,246 got General Remission II. Meanwhile, of the 49,781 granted special remission, 793 got Special Remission II.          "A total of 58,595 people's jail terms have been reduced on Independence Day. However, a slightly fewer number of prisoners have had their sentences reduced on the Id-ul-Fitr," Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta, ahead of the Independence Day celebrations last week.          The minister noted that the general and special remissions were granted on the basis of government regulation No. 32/1999 on the Terms and Procedures for Implementation of the Rights of Inmates, as well as of Presidential decree No. 174/1999 on Sentences Reduction.          For corruption convicts, remission is regulated through government regulation No. 28/2006 which came into effect after the amendment of government regulation No. 32/1999.         "As per government regulation No. 28/2006, their sentences will be cut by six months if they have exhibited good behaviour," Syamsuddin noted.          A total of 153,246 people, comprising 50,275 prisoners and 102,971 inmates, were locked up in prisons throughout Indonesia until August 2012.          In the meantime, more than half --1,276 of 2,336 -- inmates of the Nusakambangan penitentiary were granted sentence cuts, including 32 who walked out free from the country's largest penitentiary, on the occasion of the country's Independence Day.          The penitentiary of Nusakambangan, an island situated a few miles south of Cilacap in southern coast of Central Java, is notorious for housing criminals convicted of serious offenses, such as murderers and corruption and drug convicts.          "Among the inmates are 53 death-row prisoners and 74 convicts serving life imprisonment," said Hermawan Yulianto, the head of the penitentiary.          Inmates who were given sentence remissions include Indonesian nationals as well as foreigners.          In the Indonesian island resort of Bali, for example, the prison term for Australian drug convict Schapelle Leigh Corby was reduced by six months.          "Corby has received a six-month remission, along with fellow convict and Australian national Rene Lawrence," Minister Amir Syamsuddin said.          The minister also pointed out that the remission given to Corby was no different from the sentence cuts granted to other inmates, ¿which were granted on grounds of good behaviour at the correction centres¿.          "Corby's name will be removed from the remission recipient list if we receive a note of complaint from the correction centre," Syamsuddin stated.          "Remission is every inmate's right and should certainly not be used for discrimination, as per government regulation (PP) No. 28/2006, laid down in the Terms and Procedures for Implementation of the Rights of Inmates," he added.          Other foreign inmates whose prison terms were cut on Independence Day include Peter Achim Franz Grabmann from Germany, Jean Marc Patrice Garcia from France, and Malaysian national Lem Tian Soon Tian, all of whom were granted a two-month reduction in their sentences.          In addition, Gary Matin Turner from Great Britain and Mohammed Umar Ranggaswamy from India were granted a four-month remission.          Some corruption convicts also saw their sentences commuted.     Dedi Sutardi, the chief of the Sukamiskin detention centre in West Java, said the government had ordered a reduction in the sentences of corruption convict Gayus Tambunan and murder convict Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who are currently lodged at the Sukamiskin detention centre.          He added that Tambunan, who was convicted in a tax corruption and bribery case during his stint as a junior tax officer, had been granted a three-month remission ahead of Independence Day and an additional one-month reduction in his sentence before Id-ul-Fitr.          Meanwhile the sentence of Priyanto, who was sentenced to 20 years in jail for murdering human rights activist Munir, was reduced by five months on the occasion of Independence Day and another one month and 20 days for working as an assistant to an officer at the detention centre.          Some inmates, such those in Paledang Penitentiary of Bogor West Java, not only saw their sentences being commuted, but also had their pockets filled with monetary rewards,. Inmates who were granted sentence reduction were also awarded with a "kedeudeuh" (prize) of Rp100,000 each.          The monetary awards were provided by the Mayor Diani Budiarto.          Bogor Regional Government Spokesman Asep Firdaus said on Monday that the mayor provided Rp100,000 for each of the 452 inmates who were granted sentence cuts on the occasion of the country¿s independence anniversary.          On them, 30 inmates enjoyed General Remission II and walked free.          "Inmates who got General Remission II can use the money to pay for their trip home to reunite with their families," the mayor said.***3*** (T.A014/INE/a014/KR-BSR/A/A014) 21-08-2012 17:24: