Vesak Day, 1,252 Buddhist Prisoners Receive Remission

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham) granted Special Remissions (RK) to 1,252 of 1,988 Buddhist prisoners throughout Indonesia on Vesak Day 2022 which falls on Monday 16 May.

Of the total recipients of the Waisak Special Remissions, 1,245 inmates received Special Remissions I or a partial reduction with details of 116 prisoners receiving 15 days remission, 768 prisoners receiving 1 month remission, 211 inmates receiving 1 month 15 days remission, and 2 months remission for 150 inmates. Meanwhile, seven other inmates received Special Remissions II or were immediately released.

Remissions are given to prisoners who have met administrative and substantive requirements, such as having served a minimum of 6 months of imprisonment, not being registered in register F, and actively participating in the coaching program at the Penitentiary or State Detention Center. The Directorate General of Corrections (Ditjenpas) ensures that the rights of prisoners, such as the provision of Remission, Assimilation and Integration, face-to-face and online visiting services, health services, etc., are still provided even though they are still in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

“The state is here to give attention and appreciation for prisoners to always have integrity, behave well, and do not commit violations. This is realized through the provision of remissions, which are expected to motivate inmates to achieve self-awareness which is reflected in their daily attitudes and behavior,” said the Coordinator of Public Relations and Protocol of the Directorate General of Past, Rika Aprianti in a press release, Monday, May 16.

The granting of the 2022 RK Waisak succeeded in saving the inmates' food budget of IDR 739,500,000,00 with details of IDR 735,675,000.00 from 1,245 inmates receiving Special Remissions I and IDR 3,825,000.00 from seven inmates receiving Special Remissions II. This year, the Regional Office (Kanwil) of the North Sumatra Ministry of Law and Human Rights gave the most Waisak Special Remissions to 265 inmates, followed by the West Kalimantan Ministry of Law and Human Rights Regional Office with 200 prisoners, and the Banten Ministry of Law and Human Rights Regional Office with 164 inmates.

“Remissions are not only given to prisoners who behave well and fulfill administrative and substantive requirements. Through this step, the state has also succeeded in saving the budget by reducing the criminal period of convicts," explained Rika.

Remission rights to prisoners are granted by the state through the Ministry of Law and Human Rights as regulated in Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12 of 1995 concerning Corrections (State Gazette of 1995 Number 77, Supplement to State Gazette Number 3614) and Government Regulation Number 32 of 1999 concerning Terms and Procedures Method of Implementation of WBP Rights (State Gazette of 1999 Number 69, Supplement to State Gazette Number 3846), the first amendment: Government Regulation no. 28 of 2006, the second amendment: Government Regulation No. 99 of 2012, and Presidential Decree no. 174/1999 on Remissions.

Based on data from smslap.ditjenpas.go.id as of May 9, 2022, the number of prisoners and detainees throughout Indonesia reached 273,982, with details of 227,011 prisoners and 46,971 prisoners. (prv)