20 May 2007
KUALA LUMPUR (Antara): Hundreds of Indonesians from Aceh province facing death sentence in Malaysia called on the government Wednesday to provide them with lawyers.
"We appeal to the government, particularly the Aceh regional government, to send us lawyers," said Marwansyah bin Arsyad, 35, one of the Indonesians.
Hundreds of Acehnese facing death sentence made the request when an investigation team from Aceh visited them in Sungai Buloh jail, Selangor, on Wednesday.
The investigation team was chaired by Afridal Darmi with members M Yusuf Ismail Pasee, Zaini Djalil and Saifuddin Gani. The team members held dialog with the Acehnese convicts.
"We only have one hope that the government would send us lawyers to defend us so that we would get pardon or clemency," Marwansyah who was arrested in September 2000 for possession of marijuana, said.
Marwansyah said he no longer had family members in Aceh because they were killed during the earthquake-triggered tsunami which hit the Indonesian westernmost province on December 26, 2004.
The same hope was also voiced by Raja bin Syarif, a death convict from Krueng Baro, Nagan Raya district, Aceh. He said he was arrested for possessing marijuana in April, 2004.
The other death convict, Abdullah, said he hoped the Aceh regional government to send lawyers for Acehnese facing the gallows in Malaysia.
He said that in the Sungai Buloh alone, there were about 400 Acehnese convicts who sought for legal defense and clemency. (**)
