Barney Greenway

Photo credit: Enrico Dal Boni

Napalm Death frontman Mark “Barney” Greenway has once again written a letter to Indonesian president Joko Widodo – a fellow metalhead and fan of Napalm Death – asking that he forego capital punishment in the case of prisoners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. This is the second time Greenway has appealed to the president, having first contacted the leader in late January. Below is the most recent letter:

“Dear Mr Widodo,

I am writing to you again on the subject of the two Australian death row detainees, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, and also again in the wider respect of all people under threat of capital punishment.

It seems that the appeals hearing on April 6th is a crucial juncture in respect of Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran, and I would urge you again to review the situation seriously, grant clemency to the two, and overall look towards eradicating use of the death penalty. I do not believe that an outright rejection of pleas for clemency represents a reasonable response. I am well aware that the Indonesian state has rightfully intervened to stop the death penalty being enacted on it’s citizens in other countries, and so it follows, I believe, that you should afford the detainees within Indonesia the same considerations. Taking the wider view on the issue of drugs trafficking, their sentences will achieve almost nothing in addressing those aspects of the drugs trade which bring oppression to the poorest and the easily-exploited, which is surely the primary objective. They are very small drops in a vast ocean.

I appeal to you again as a follower of Napalm Death and as a fellow human being to really do something that is by turns both ground-breaking and overwhelmingly simple: stop these killings.

Thank you again for your time and consideration

Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway (Napalm Death)”