Antara News·Indonesia·Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at 01:24 PM

Govt targets drug inmate rehab to ease prison overcrowding

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Fathur Rochman, Yashinta Difa

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto has instructed Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas to formulate a comprehensive rehabilitation policy for drug users currently serving time in Indonesia’s severely overcrowded prison system.

"I was specifically asked to coordinate with several ministries and agencies—including the Head of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), the Head of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and other ministers—to devise a rehabilitation plan targeting drug users inside correctional facilities," Supratman said after a limited cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The directive comes in response to severe overcrowding across the national prison network.

Data from the Directorate General of Corrections as of April 2026 shows that prisons and detention centers nationwide house over 271,000 inmates against a capacity of approximately 146,000, resulting in an overcrowding rate of about 85 percent.

Official records as of May 4, 2026, indicate that 146,284 inmates, or 53.9 percent of the national prison population, are incarcerated for narcotics-related offenses.

BNN Head Suyudi Ario Seto noted that his agency will work closely with relevant ministries to define the criteria and mechanisms for providing medical and social rehabilitation to incarcerated users.

"We will hold a more in-depth coordination meeting regarding rehabilitation efforts, specifically concerning users or inmates involved in narcotics cases who have been processed and detained but still require rehabilitation," Suyudi stated.

In addition to prison reform, Minister Supratman reported to the President progress on legal aid accessibility, highlighting the establishment of roughly 83,960 community legal aid posts (posbankum) across villages and urban communities nationwide.

Out of approximately 16,000 complaints received by these posts, around 14,000 cases were resolved through mediation using a restorative justice approach, while the remaining two thousand are receiving free legal aid services.

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