MELBOURNE, Australia
Airline tycoon Sir Richard Branson has written to Indonesian President Joko Widodo pleading for the lives of 10 drug convicts facing execution, local media reported Wednesday.
Branson, founder of the Virgin Group and a commissioner for the Global Commission on Drug Policy, described the death penalty as an "inhumane form of punishment that has been proven time and again to fail as a deterrent of crime," the Age newspaper said.
In his letter, Branson added: "Countries that still carry out executions for drug offenses have not seen any significant shifts in supply and demand. The drug trade remains remarkably unaffected by the threat of capital punishment."
Widodo has defended his refusal to grant clemency in drugs cases on the "drug emergency" facing Indonesia due to rising narcotics use.
Branson, who posted the letter on his company’s website Wednesday, said the death sentence "removes any chance of forgiveness for the remorseful."
Opponents to Indonesia’s plans to execute nine foreigners and an Indonesian over drug offenses have pointed to the fact that many of the prisoners, particularly Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were in early adulthood when they committed their crimes and have since been rehabilitated and shown remorse.
The letter, signed by Branson and two other members of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, argues that drug abuse should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one.
It adds: "If you were to find it helpful, we would be happy to come to Indonesia to discuss the issue with you and your administration."
Branson told ABC News that he was willing to "get on a plane today, tomorrow" in an attempt to change the president’s decision.
Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, were convicted of leading the Bali Nine trafficking gang that attempted to smuggle 8.3 kilograms (18 pounds) of heroin through Indonesia in 2005.
Eight other prisoners face execution by firing squad on Nusa Kambangan prison island. They are Nigerians Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise and Okwudili Oyatanze; Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the Philippines; France’s Serge Areski Atlaoui; Ghanaian Martin Anderson; Indonesian Zainal Abidin; Raheem Agbaje Salami from Spain; and Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte.
