By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Indonesian rights and health groups filed a petition Friday calling on the country’s president and attorney general to cancel the upcoming execution of a Brazilian smuggler diagnosed with a mental disorder.
Yeni Rosa Damayanti, chairman of Healthy Mental Society which has joined the Disability Care Group campaign, told the Kompas news website, "We ask to president and attorney general to stop the execution to Rodrigo Gularte as he is suffering from a mental disorder."
Rodrigo is among 10 drug convicts -- nine of them foreigners -- set to be executed in the near future.
Damayanti said Rodrigo had been checked into a provincial hospital in Central Java on Feb.10, with test results showing that he suffered from schizophrenia. Doctors advised the next day that he be placed under psychological care.
"Schizophrenia is a very severe mental disorder," she added, explaining that Rodrigo had been listed in the records of a mental hospital in Paraguay in 1996.
"There is also data suggesting Rodrigo had already received medicines given to outpatients since 1996," said Yeni, adding that the Brazilian had not been checked by a psychiatrist during the start of legal proceedings against him in Indonesia.
"Why are [people with] mental disorders sentenced to death while Article 44 of the Criminal Code clearly states that people who experience psychiatric disorders cannot be convicted?"
Other members of the Disability Care Group expressed similar opposition to Rodrigo being executed, with Sandra Moniaga of the National Human Right Commission advising President Joko Widodo and the attorney general to review the decision.
Meanwhile, a doctor at a mental hospital in Bogor city told Kompas, "I support the petition for those suffering from mental disorders because they should not be punished heavily."
Gularte was arrested by Indonesian authorities in 2004 with 6 kilograms (13 pounds) of heroin, and was sentenced to death the following year. Widodo rejected his request for clemency this January.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla had earlier stated that execution should be delayed for people with mental disorders until they received treatment.
"If he [Gularte] truly has the mental disorder, it certainly should be treated first. It [execution] should be postponed," he said Tuesday.
Attorney General Prasetyo, however, had previously said that there was no law or regulation that would prevent Gularte being executed on the grounds of mental health, as pregnancy is the only health-related exemption.
Relations between the countries has been strained since January, when Indonesia executed six drug convicts including a Brazilian -- resulting in Brasilia recalling its ambassador. In February, Indonesia recalled its ambassador after Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff rejected his diplomatic credentials.
A date for the upcoming executions -- for which a 72-hour notice is to be given in advance -- has not been announced.
In an interview Thursday, Prasetyo indicated that the 72-hour period has yet to begin, telling Metro TV: "About notification, it’s a minimum three days before the execution. It could be 10 days."
He said preparations were being handled meticulously so as not to cause problems at a later time.
Widodo has adopted a tough stance on drug traffickers, denying clemency while Indonesia faces a "drug emergency."
