Indonesia: executions will not stop drug problem
AIDS Alliance, 22 january 2015 - "Our Linking Organisation in Indonesia, Rumah Cemara, has written to the President of Indonesia to strongly condemn his decision to give the go-ahead to execute six people for drugs related offences.
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An open letter - signed by more than thirty Indonesian civil society organisations including Rumah Cemara - was sent to the President, Ir. H. Joko Widodo. It calls for an end to all pending executions. A further 64 people – both foreign and Indonesian nationals – have been sentenced to death and are currently waiting on death row. ndonesia has one of the fastest growing HIV epidemics in Asia. Injecting drug use is a key driver of new infections. Rumah Cemara takes a harm reduction approach to tackling drug use and HIV. According to Ardhany Suryadarma, their Policy Manager for the EU funded project, Asia Action on Harm Reduction: “These executions only exacerbate the stigmatisation of people who use drugs, driving them underground and away from methadone programmes and safer injecting equipment. We know the services we provide keep individuals safer and curb the HIV epidemic.” Further readings: |