Coordinating Minister Yusril Said Indonesian Prisoners Were The Most Populated In Malaysia And Arabia

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Human Rights Imipas Yusril Ihza Mahendra (center) at a "media gathering" event in Jakarta, Thursday (28/11/2024). ANTARA/Agatha Olivia Victoria

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections (Kumham Imipas) Yusril Ihza Mahendra said that the most prisoners (prisoners) who were imprisoned abroad were in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

"At least in these two countries, the number of Indonesian citizens who are imprisoned is quite good," said Yusril at a media gathering in Jakarta, Thursday.

However, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Human Rights Imipas admitted that he did not know the exact number of Indonesian citizens in the two countries so that his party would further record the number of Indonesian citizens who are prisoners in other countries.

The reason, he said, is that the Coordinating Ministry for Kumham Imipas currently does not have data on the number of Indonesian citizens imprisoned in other countries.

Thus, said Yusril, discussing requests for the transfer of foreigners from several countries, such as the Philippines, Australia, to France, would be a momentum to record Indonesian prisoners in these countries.

"So, we are also collecting data because we already have data on foreign prisoners here. How many have been sentenced to 20 years, how many have been sentenced to life, how many have been sentenced to death, we already know, only Indonesian citizens there do not have data yet," he said.

According to him, there are also Indonesian citizens who are imprisoned in Australia. However, in the Philippines, they do not know whether any Indonesian citizens are imprisoned in the country.

To his knowledge, he said he only knew that there were Indonesian citizens on the wanted list (DPO) who fled to the Philippines, not prisoners.

Yusril emphasized that the DPO status is different from that of a prisoner because the DPO is a suspect and the convict is a convict whose sentence has been decided.

In addition, he continued, the DPO is the responsibility of the Attorney General's Office and the police, while the prisoners are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.