Indonesia: Convicted murderer shot

Indonesia yesterday executed a man for murdering a family of six in February 1999.

It was the fourteenth reported execution in Indonesia since 1995.

Ayub Bulubili, 40, was shot by firing squad at 1:30am on Saturday at a shooting range in Central Kalimantan, according to an AFP report.

AFP quoted Agustinus Siahaan, a warden at Palangkaraya jail where Bulubili had been held, who said the prisoner took part in a Catholic religious service in the prison before he was executed.

"He was executed early on Saturday morning and was buried near here before noon," Mr Siahaan said.

Bulubili would have been notified of his execution at least 72 hours before it was carried out.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) released an Urgent Action appeal last week in an attempt to prevent the execution.

AI said Ayub Bulubili was sentenced to death on 28 October 1999 by the Kapuas District court in Central Kalimantan province.

He was convicted of the premeditated murder of a family of six, including four children between four and thirteen years of age.

His sentence was upheld by the Central Kalimantan High Court and by the Indonesian Supreme Court. AI said two appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, the first by then President Megawati Sukarnoputri in July 2004 and the second by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in March 2007.

AI reports there are at least 91 people believed to be under sentence of death in Indonesia, 13 of whom were convicted and sentenced to death in 2006.

Executions in Indonesia are carried out by firing squad, although the government is considering a move to lethal injection.

Prisoners are shot by a firing squad of twelve people. Six guns are loaded with live ammunition and six with blanks.

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Executions in Indonesia since 1995 -- 26 September 2006