Indonesia’s Drug War

Is Indonesia’s war on drugs an effective policy to a social problem?

In Indonesia, users of any drugs are rarely sent to rehabilitation, as happens in many countries, they are sent to jails. It is reported that drug users make up more than half of Indonesia’s massive jail population. As drugs are easily available in many prisons, is this the best place for them?

Selling and trafficking drugs can lead to the death penalty. There are many reasons to question this approach. There is no proof that the death penalty deters people from drug crime. And the death penalty is final. Is there any legal system on earth so perfect that it doesn’t make mistakes?

But Indonesia’s courts continue to send people to death row. In 2018 there were 39 new death sentences for drug-related offences, accounting for 81 per cent of all new death sentences.

Learn more from Amnesty International.