Divine Providence Sister Laurentina holds a lit candle and a banner during a candlelight vigil held by rights groups and activists in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta July 28 that was protesting against the July 29 execution of four drug offenders. (ucanews.com photo by Ryan Dagur)
Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta condemned the execution of four drug offenders early on July 29, calling on Catholics to offer prayers for those killed during general intercessions at Sunday Masses.
Indonesian, Freddy Budiman, Senegalese Seck Osmane as well as two Nigerians, Michael Titus Igweh and Humphrey Jefferson Ejike, were executed by firing squad just before 1 a.m. local time on the notorious Nusakambangan Island where executions are carried out.
Ten other convicts due to be executed had a last minute stay of execution. No reasons were given for the stay but a storm had hit the island while the executions of the other four were taking place.
"I ask all priests to invite all Catholics in Jakarta Archdiocese to pray for the drug offenders who have been executed and for those who will face execution as well as for our state and the church in Indonesia," the prelate said in a statement.
"We will continue to pray that a moratorium on the death penalty will soon be implemented and that capital punishment will be removed from the legal system in Indonesia," he added.
Archbishop Suharyo vowed that the church would continue to mount and support campaigns opposing the death penalty.
People's lives should be respected and their dignity should be highly regarded, he said.
"Only with respect for people's lives and dignity, can a civilized society be built," Archbishop Suharyo said.
Amnesty International called the executions a "deplorable act that violates international law."
"Any executions that are still to take place must be halted immediately. The injustice already done cannot be reversed, but there is still hope that it won't be compounded," Rafendi Djamin Amnesty International's Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific said in a statement.
Prior to the executions, around 100 people from various organisations staged a candlelit vigil on July 28 in front of the presidential palace in Jakarta.
Officials from the archdiocesan Caring for Migrant Workers Network and members of the Community of Sant'Egidio lay group took part in the vigil.
Providence Sister Laurentina from the archdiocesan network said death should be in God's hands.
"There should be forgiveness. Why can't they be given life sentences?" she said, urging Indonesian President Joko Widodo to stop the executions.
The government said later on July 29 that it had not yet decided when the other condemned convicts would be put to death.
Among them are Indonesian woman Merri Utami, who claims she was duped into becoming a drug mule and Pakistani national Zulfiqar Ali who activists say was beaten by police to extract a confession.
Indonesia carried out two rounds of executions last year, putting to death six people in January and eight in April.
