Jakarta: More than 50,000 convicts, including those sentenced for graft, murder and drug running, have been granted sentence reductions as the country celebrated Independence Day Friday, media reported Saturday.
Among high profile convicts receiving remission of sentences were Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, former tax official Gayus H Tambunan, and former Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, who was sentenced for his role in the murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib, reported Xinhua.
Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsudin said that all inmates were entitled to sentence reductions on occasions such as Independence Day or religious holidays.
"Their rights are guaranteed by the regulation, even graft convicts and terrorists, especially when the inmates are recommended for good behaviour. However, we are now working to revise the regulation to apply stringent conditions on those applying for remission," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.
IANS
