Sit or stand against imminent execution in Indonesia: Act now!

Update, 17 May: We've heard that we were unsuccessful in persauding the Indonesian government, and the 3 men were exeucted late yesterday. 
Despite this awful news, we'll keep campaigning for Indonesia to step back from the death penalty. Every time we make a stand, every time we publicly say 'this is wrong', we're helping persaude more people that the death penalty should be consigned to history. Slowly, we will persaude governments like Indonesia that there is no need to resort to the ultimate cruel, inhuman punishment that is the death penalty.

Nothing ever prepares you to the harrowing emails from our research HQ – especially not those with a subject like this: Pressing Urgent Action.

I was sitting at my desk, sipping my cup of tea. Now my heart is beating as I open the email and wonder what can be so pressing when all the Urgent Actions are already urgent?

Death penalty is. Especially when it is imminent. My hands are getting wet by sweat as I scroll down and quickly skim through the case.  All I know is that it is happening today. How long do we have? A few hours or a few minutes? I don’t know. All I know is that action needs to be taken ASAP if we want to even get a chance of saving 3 lives.

In March, the first execution in four years in Indonesia was a shocking tragedy for us all at Amnesty, especially after the ray of hope we'd seen when they changing their "against" to an "abstention" vote for the establishment of a moratorium on executions at the UN General Assembly.

These 3 men in Indonesia are suddenly with me in my London-based office. After 20 years on death row for premeditated murder, 3 men are about to be given the last choice of their life: standing or sitting in front of the 12 men who will fire at them.

And here I am sitting in front of my computer, revolted, writing this in the hope to spread my hope. The hope that if we all act now, sitting or standing won’t be the last choice they have to make.

The choice I made sitting right here, right now, is the choice against death penalty.

Wherever you are, whoever you are, sit or stand against the death penalty. Spread the word and act. 

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Whatever the crime, however horrific, the death penalty is not the answer. We hope we can persuade Indonesia of that tonight. 

Post by our Urgent Action volunteer Melody.