Jakarta. Indonesia is in talks to send Dutch prisoners back to the Netherlands so they can serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country.

Chief Legal Affairs Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and the Dutch government have recently been engaging in prisoner transfer talks. Earlier this month, Yusril had a bilateral meeting on the repatriation plan with Dutch Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen. Most recently, Eric Bezem, the sanctions director-general at the Dutch Justice Ministry, visited Yusril's office in Jakarta. It is unclear how close Indonesia is to agreeing on the Dutch prisoner transfer. However, Indonesia not long ago returned Filipina drug convict Mary Jane Veloso to Manila, suggesting Jakarta's openness to the idea. Last month, Indonesia even handed over Serge Atlaoui, an ailing Frenchman on death row for drug offenses, to France.

According to Yusril, five Dutch nationals are currently serving criminal sentences in Indonesia. Two are drug convicts, while three are being imprisoned for different cases.

"There are two [Dutch nationals] currently being detained at the immigration detention center for administration issues," Yusril was quoted as saying in a recent press statement.

Yusril did not go into detail on these Dutch prisoners' identities, but the minister said that the government was open to such transfers as long as the Netherlands respects the Indonesian court decisions. In other words, the transferred inmates still have to serve the rest of their sentence as decided by the Indonesian legal systems. However, the Dutch government may grant them pardon in accordance with its laws. 

Yusril's deputy minister Otto Hasibuan told Bezem that Indonesia had drafted a law on prisoner transfer mechanisms, which could give a "stronger basis" for inmate handovers. In past prisoner transfers, the government made "practical arrangements" based on humanitarian grounds and strong bilateral ties.

Bezem said the Dutch government would "certainly respect Indonesia's legal systems".

"However, this calls for a more in-depth discussion on our legal systems to avoid gaps in the prisoners' sentences," he stated.

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