Byron beachside will be lit by the glow of candlelight on Tuesday evening when residents will light candles in solidarity with at least 64 people who are on death row in Indonesia for drug smuggling offences.
The event is a response to comments by incoming Indonesian President Joko Widodo late last year that he would not grant clemency to at least 64 people who have been sentenced to death for drug-related crimes and that there were plans to execute all of them.
They include Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, whose claims for clemency have been rejected in recent weeks.
Amnesty International is asking Australians to use the hashtag #LoveIndoHateDP and sign Amnesty International’s petition calling for the executions to be stopped.
‘The Byron Bay group is part of the worldwide Amnesty International movement that opposes the death penalty in any circumstance, for any person,’ said group co-convenor Cate Coorey,.
‘We invite residents to Apex Park opposite the Beach Hotel at 6.30pm on Tuesday to light the flame of justice, and send a public message that Australians oppose state-sanctioned executions,’ she added.
Ms Coorey said the death penalty has been proven not to work in deterring crime.
‘It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and it has no place in today’s justice system,’ she said.
Amnesty International has been campaigning against the death penalty for the last 30 years. When Amnesty began its campaign in the 1970s, only a handful of countries had abolished capital punishment; now 140 countries have abandoned the practice.
Anyone interested in joining or contacting the local Amesty Group can email [email protected]
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