World · East Asia & Pacific · 17 hrs ago
Indonesia’s Death Row Grows Despite a Decade Without Executions
Indonesia has not executed anyone in over a decade, despite continuing to impose death sentences.
Its new Criminal Code is designed to make capital punishment a “last resort.”
The number of people on death row is still rising, even as executions remain under an unofficial moratorium.
There were 639 people on death row in April, up from 596 in August 2025.
The figures come from a report published in October by the Indonesian Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, known as KontraS.
The report has raised questions about court rulings that continue to send people to death row.
Indonesia has not carried out an execution in more than a decade, but the number of people on death row has increased.
There were 639 people on death row as of April, up from 596 in August 2025.
The figures come from a report by the Indonesian Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence, known as KontraS.
The report, published in October, raised questions about capital punishment rulings despite an unofficial moratorium on executions.
Indonesia’s new Criminal Code is designed to make capital punishment a “last resort”.
- Who
- 639 people were on death row in Indonesia as of April.
- What
- The number of people on death row increased despite more than a decade without executions.
- When
- The count was 639 as of April, compared with 596 as of August 2025. The report was published in October.
- Where
- Indonesia.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Indonesia had 596 people on death row.
Indonesia had 639 people on death row.
KontraS published a report on the persistent use of capital punishment in Indonesian courts.
- People on death row
- 639 as of April
- Previous count
- 596 as of August 2025
- Executions
- None in more than a decade
- Report author
- Indonesian Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- Report publication
- October
What people are saying
last resort