Indonesia to restrict sentence cut for graft convicts

JAKARTA -The Indonesian government has said that it will tighten rules on sentence reduction for corruption convicts before next year's Islamic festivity, a media quoting a minister reported on Tuesday.

Historically, Indonesia cut sentence of well-behaved convicts ahead of Independence Day and the festivity, but recently, the decision has often be criticized.

"Remission tightening could not be implemented yet. But 'inshallah' ('God willing') it can be done next year," Justice and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin was quote by the Jakarta Globe as saying.

This year, 27 graft convicts despite a moratorium on sentence reductions passed last year.

Under current regulations, graft convicts are eligible for sentence cuts after serving one-third of their sentence. The proposed changes would require corruption convicts to serve half of their sentence before they become eligible for reductions.

But these changes, hampered by Indonesia's bureaucracy, were unable to affect sentence reductions this year. The reforms still need to go through a "harmonization" period to ensure that the changes are in line with current laws.

The government faced criticism this year after announcing holiday sentence reductions for the 27 graft convicts, a move that seemingly flies in the face of the presidential moratorium.

Last year, ministers came under similar fire after proposing a sentence cut for Gayus, who is facing a 30-year sentence for accepting more than $7 million US in bribes while working as a tax official.

Deputy Justice and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana responded to the backlash by issuing a moratorium on sentence reductions for graft convicts in an effort to "strengthen the deterrent effect for organized criminals".

The moratorium is reportedly still in effect, according to Ministry of Justice and Human Rights spokesman Goncang Raharjo.