Indonesia: 639 prisoners on death row as of April 2026

There are 639 prisoners on death row in Indonesia as of April 2026, according to a report published by the organization ECPM.

This number represents more than double the number of prisoners recorded in 2019, according to latest fact-finding mission report published by ECPM.

Seven years later, this new report documents changes in Indonesia’s approach to capital punishment. The entry into force of the new Criminal Code and the amendments introduced in 2026 mark a shift towards a more conditional and less irreversible approach to the death penalty, although capital punishment remains in place and sentences are being handed down at an alarming rate. 

Despite the absence of executions since 2016, Indonesian courts continue to impose death sentences, and the number of people on death row has risen significantly. In 2025 alone, Indonesian courts imposed at least 68 new death sentences, the vast majority for drug-related offences, placing Indonesia among the countries most actively resorting to capital punishment worldwide.

Foreign nationals are particularly affected. Official data from 2025 indicate that 95 foreign nationals from around a dozen countries were under sentence of death, 94 of them for drug-related offences. By April 2026, the number of foreign nationals under death sentence had risen to 97.