ICJR Criticizes Death Sentence In Herry Wirawan Case, Not A Solution For Victims Of Sexual Violence

Convicted in the rape case of 13 female students, Herry Wirawan. ANTARA/HO-Kejati West Java

JAKARTA - Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) researcher Maidina Rahmawati emphasized that the death penalty for Herry Wirawan (HW) as the perpetrator of the rape of 13 students was not a solution for victims of sexual violence.

The death penalty for perpetrators of sexual violence will actually shift the state's focus to things that are not more important than the victim.

"Although the perpetrators of rape and other sexual violence must be held accountable, the death penalty and torture are not the solution," Maidina said when quoting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet Maidina, quoted by Antara, Monday, April 4.

He stated that there is no scientific evidence that the death penalty can cause a deterrent effect, including in cases of rape.

Furthermore, in this decision, the judge stated that restitution was imposed as an effort to provide a deterrent effect to the perpetrators. In fact, restitution should be positioned in the discourse on the rights of victims, not punishment of perpetrators.

"If you follow this logic, judges will face restrictions in Article 67 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits the imposition of additional penalties on defendants who are sentenced to death or life imprisonment," said Maidina.

This is what in the last decision became a problem for judges at the first level that once the maximum sentence has been given to the perpetrator, another sentence cannot be imposed.

Therefore, Maidina said, to overcome this chaos, the death penalty should not be imposed in any case, especially sexual violence, in this case the victim needs restitution to support his recovery.

"ICJR understands that this case has caused great anger to the public. However, public anger is not something that should be the main focus of providing justice for victims," he said.

The main focus of law enforcement officers should be on the victims, and not on the perpetrators. Courts, which currently have guidelines for adjudicating women's cases, must begin to think progressively by considering the needs of victims.

"Not just stuck in personal anger that will not help the victim at all," said Maidina.

He made this statement in response to the decision of the Bandung High Court (PT) which accepted the appeal by the prosecutor in the Herry Wirawan case, and imposed the death penalty as demanded by the public prosecutor at the first level.

PT Bandung also changed the responsibility for paying restitution for victims to perpetrators after the Bandung District Court (PN) gave the obligation to the Government.