Jakarta. Hundreds of Indonesians are facing the death penalty overseas and many of whom are on close neighbor Malaysia’s death row, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thursday. 

Throughout 2024, Indonesia managed to save its citizens from being executed. As many as 137 Indonesians got out of capital punishment last year, some of whom had their sentences reduced, data shows. Seventy-five of the former death row prisoners got freed or were handed less harsh sentences after Malaysia made its capital punishment law optional and no longer a mandatory penalty. But in 2024, 46 more Indonesians were sentenced to death. By the end of the year, there are still 157 Indonesians on death row abroad. 

“Death penalties are very complicated. … Many of our diplomats are going beyond their call of duty in their efforts to get reduced sentences or free them from criminal charges. Some even regularly check in with [the prisoners’] families and cook for them," Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Arrmanatha Nasir told a press briefing in Jakarta.

The ministry data shows about 111 of the 157 ongoing cases are related to drug offenses. Some 46 others receive capital punishment for murder. Data shows that 147 of the aforementioned ongoing death penalty cases are in Malaysia, followed by 4 cases in fellow ASEAN member Laos. The rest are in the Middle East region with 3 Indonesians being on Emirati death row, while 2 others are in Saudi. An Indonesian citizen is among the death row prisoners in Vietnam.

Arrmanatha did not go into details on the 157 individuals still on death row. 

Judha Nugraha, the ministry’s director for citizen protection, revealed later that day that the government would pay for the lawyers to represent the Indonesians who are facing the possibility of execution. 

“Because it involves irreversible capital punishment, the Indonesian government would provide a lawyer at the state’s expense. … But that does not mean we are defending them for the crimes they have done. We are solely defending their rights, including the right to get fair treatment in court,” Judha said.

He added: “We do not intervene with the legal system of the country they are in.”