[STATEMENT] IMA Asia Pacific - Free Fandi Ramadhan and 5 other crew members from the death penalty!

Stop punishing migrants!

Create decent jobs in home countries!

The International Migrants Alliance (IMA) Asia Pacific condemns the prosecutor's demand for the death penalty in the case of Fandi Ramadhan and 5 other crew members at the Batam District Court. Fandi and his fellows are migrant workers who eke out a living aboard the MT Sea Dragon Tarawa tanker due to the lack of decent employment opportunities domestically amidst the ever-increasing cost of living.

Migrant workers, including those on tankers, are vulnerable. They are not in a position to question or refuse orders given by the ship's master. Fandi, a mechanic, was unable to refuse when asked to help lift a box he didn't know the contents of onto the ship. He had only been on the ship for three days and was trying to do his job well.

The situation of these vulnerable migrant workers should be taken into consideration by law enforcement officials, including the police, prosecutors, and judges. Efforts to delve deeper into the case, address the vulnerability and well-being of migrant workers, and prosecute the real drug lords should be undertaken. However, it is easier to punish those who have no means of defending themselves than to confront a drug syndicate that likely wields considerable power.

In his defense, Fandi wrote the title "I was lost in my country, but even the government didn't save me," as a last-ditch effort to demonstrate his innocence and his desperate desire for the government to defend him.

IMA Asia Pacific expresses its support for the demands for the release of Fandi and the five other crew members. We also demand that the Indonesian and Thai governments ensure that these crew members' rights as workers are protected and that they are guaranteed legal protection. Combat drug syndicates without victimizing migrant workers. Create decent jobs domestically so that people can work well without being haunted by criminalization or held responsible for the crimes committed by others.

Release Fandi and the 5 migrant workers!