The Law- and Human Rights Ministry of Indonesia released on 31 March a document, that announced the agreement of allowing adult prisoners to be eligible for release if they had served two-thirds of their sentences, while children would be eligible if they had served half of their jail term, reports Reuters.
The total of prisoners set to be released are around 30,000, announced the spokesman of the Law- and Human Rights Ministry Bambang Wiyono on 31 March. By releasing the prisoners, the Indonesian government seeks to avoid a surge of infected cases in its prisons.
The government has reported 1,414 cases of confirmed infections and 122 deaths from the novel corona virus. President Joko Widodo declared on 31 March the outbreak of the coronavirus a ‘national public health emergency’.
Source: Reuters
