British businessman, Richard Branson, has joined calls for clemency for convicted Nigerians and other foreigners on death row in Indonesia, as an Indonesian minister warned of a renewed influx of asylum seekers into Australia if it continues to push the issue, reports Reuters.
Virgin founder, Branson, said on Wednesday he and fellow members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy had written to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, calling the planned execution of up to 11 foreigners a barbaric and inhumane form of punishment.
“What we have learned is that treating drugs as a health issue, not as a criminal issue, it actually helps lower the number of drug deaths,” Branson told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. “It limits the spread of infectious diseases like HIV and AIDS or hepatitis C, it reduces drug-related crime, and it allows people who struggle with addiction to become useful members of society again,” he said.
The planned executions by Indonesia of the death row inmates, most convicted on drug smuggling charges, have been condemned internationally. The group includes citizens of Australia, France, Brazil, the Philippines, Ghana, and Nigeria, as well as Indonesia.
