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Indonesia, Netherlands Sign Deal to Return Two Elderly Dutch Drug Convicts

Indonesia approved the transfer on humanitarian grounds following appeals from the Dutch king.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra, right, and Netherlands Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen, left, show the document during the signing ceremony the practical arrangement between the government of Indonesia and Netherlands in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Netherlands Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen speak during a press conference after the signing ceremony the practical arrangement between the government of Indonesia and Netherlands in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra, left, speak and Netherlands Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen, listen, during a press conference after the signing ceremony the practical arrangement between the government of Indonesia and Netherland in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra, right, and Netherlands Ambassador to Indonesia Marc Gerritsen, left, sign the document during the signing ceremony the practical arrangement between the government of Indonesia and Netherlands in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

Overview

  • The agreement covers Siegfried Mets, 74, who remains on death row for a 2008 ecstasy case, and Ali Tokman, 65, whose death sentence was reduced to life.
  • Senior minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra signed the deal in Jakarta as Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel participated virtually.
  • Mets and Tokman are scheduled to fly from Jakarta to Amsterdam on December 8, according to Indonesian officials.
  • Indonesian authorities cited poor health and proximity to family as reasons for the transfer, which received presidential approval.
  • The move continues recent repatriations of foreign convicts as Indonesia issues new death sentences but has not carried out executions since 2016.