Why Indonesia’s death penalty lives on, even with executions halted

Indonesia has not executed anyone for over a decade, with its new Criminal Code designed to make capital punishment a “last resort” – yet the number of prisoners on death row continues to climb. A new report on the persistent use of capital punishment by the country’s courts has raised questions about such rulings, handed down despite an unofficial moratorium on executions. There were 639 people on death row as of April this year, an increase from 596 as of August 2025, according to a report by...