JAKARTA - In the aftermath of the transfer or transfer of drug convict Mary Jane Veloso to her home country of the Philippines, now a number of countries are also asking for the same thing, including Australia, for prisoners who are members of Bali Nine. Member of Commission XIII DPR RI Prince Khairul Saleh asked the Government to be careful in making transfers of personnel.

"The request for the transfer of prisoners by various countries can create challenges for law enforcement in Indonesia," said Prince Khairul Saleh, Friday (13/12/2024).

According to information from the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Izha Mahendra, the transfer agreement of convict Mary Jane Veloso has been approved and will be signed by the Philippine Ministry of Justice. Once signed, the convict of drug cases will be able to serve the remainder of his sentence in the Philippines.

The Government's decision to move Mary Jane to serve a sentence in her country has become the concern of various parties because Indonesia does not yet have a legal basis for this. This transfer of priority decision is only based on the agreement between the two countries or in terms of diplomacy.

The problem has not been resolved, several countries have also proposed the same thing. There are at least 2 other countries that have submitted considerations for the transfer of their citizens detained in Indonesia, namely France and Australia.

Pangeran said, without a rigid legal basis, the transfer of foreign prisoners to their home country could be a new problem in the Indonesian legal system.

"If it is not handled properly, this has the potential to exacerbate inequality in the justice system and reduce public trust in legal institutions," he said.

To note, France requested the transfer of prisoners of its citizens who were sentenced to death in a drug case, namely Serge Atlaui. He was arrested in Indonesia in 2005.

Meanwhile, the Australian government requested the transfer of the detention of five of its citizens who are members of the Bali Nine. The Bali Nine case itself is one of the major cases where in 2005, nine Australian citizens were arrested in Bali for smuggling 8 kilograms of heroin.

Currently, the request for transfer of prisoners Serge Atlaui and 5 members of Bali Nine is still under government review. One of the considerations is the benefits that Indonesia gets with the agreement with France and Australia.

Although the Government stated that transfer of personnel is possible through Law Number 22 of 2022 concerning Corrections, Pangeran reminded that the process of transferring foreign prisoners should have higher legal force. Moreover, in the law there must also be derivative rules.

"We hope that the Government is more careful in making decisions. Do not get into the constitution as the highest legal basis," Pangeran said.


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