Indonesian president frees hundreds of prisoners as part of unity plan

Indonesia has begun releasing hundreds of inmates from prison, including people convicted of political offences, after parliament approved the first stage of President Prabowo Subianto’s wide-ranging clemency plan, reportedly aimed at building national solidarity.

A first group of 1,178 inmates were to be released on Friday after House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas announced late on Thursday that Subianto had signed a Presidential Decree granting amnesties.

Barely two months after he took office in October, Subianto – the former son-in-law of Indonesian dictator Soeharto – surprised the nation by saying he planned to grant clemency to some 44,000 inmates nationwide, most of them imprisoned for political reasons, as a way to help unify the country.

Law Minister Agtas said political prisoners and inmates with mental and chronic health illnesses, older people, juveniles and those convicted of blasphemy or insulting the country’s leader will be prioritised in the pardons.

Among those released on Friday were prominent rivals of former President Joko Widodo who were jailed during his term, including Hasto Kristiyanto, the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the country’s only formal opposition party.

A former ally of ex-President Widodo who later became a harsh critic, Kristiyanto was sentenced last week to three and a half years in prison for bribery in a 2019 legislative seat appointment scheme.

Released on Friday evening from his cell at the anti-Corruption Commission’s detention centre in South Jakarta, where he had been held since February, Kristiyanto told a cheering crowd, “We must learn from this incident.”

Agtas said parliament also approved an end to criminal proceedings against former Trade Minister Tom Lembong, also a onetime Widodo ally who broke with him during the 2024 presidential election to support political rival Anies Baswedan.

Lembong was sentenced to more than four years in prison in July for reportedly abusing his authority as minister by improperly granting sugar import permits.

“Both [Kristiyanto and Lembong] have demonstrated service to the nation, and our priority now is to strengthen the unity of the nation,” Agtas said.

Six independence activists from Indonesia’s restive West Papua region, serving prison sentences for treason, were also released.

Agtas said authorities plan to submit a second list of 1,668 inmates for release to parliament in the near future.