Indonesia moving 2 Aussies, 5 other foreigners for execution
17 Feb 2015 11:46 PM GMT
Among the eight are Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, the ringleaders of a group of nine Australians who were arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Australia from the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
The seven other members of the group, dubbed the “Bali Nine” by Australian media, have received prison sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
In addition to Chan and Sukumaran, five men from France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia, and a woman from the Philippines, will face a firing squad after being moved to Nusa Kambangan prison, Attorney General’s Office spokesman Tony Spontana said, without giving exact dates. Six other drug smugglers, including five foreigners, were executed in January at the same prison, located off Indonesia’s main island of Java.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has rejected appeals by Australia’s government for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, and vowed not to grant mercy to any other drug offenders because Indonesia is suffering a “drug emergency.” Australia has abolished capital punishment and opposes executions of any Australian overseas.
Lawyers for the two Australians, who are currently being held at a Bali prison, filed a complaint in an administrative court last week to challenge Jokowi’s rejection of the appeals, arguing that it was made without consideration of their remorse and rehabilitation. A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for next week.
Spontana, however, said the executions would not be delayed.
“Their legal options were exhausted after their clemency was rejected by the president,” he said. “The next step is execution.”
The seven other members of the group, dubbed the “Bali Nine” by Australian media, have received prison sentences ranging from 20 years to life.
In addition to Chan and Sukumaran, five men from France, Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia, and a woman from the Philippines, will face a firing squad after being moved to Nusa Kambangan prison, Attorney General’s Office spokesman Tony Spontana said, without giving exact dates. Six other drug smugglers, including five foreigners, were executed in January at the same prison, located off Indonesia’s main island of Java.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has rejected appeals by Australia’s government for clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, and vowed not to grant mercy to any other drug offenders because Indonesia is suffering a “drug emergency.” Australia has abolished capital punishment and opposes executions of any Australian overseas.
Lawyers for the two Australians, who are currently being held at a Bali prison, filed a complaint in an administrative court last week to challenge Jokowi’s rejection of the appeals, arguing that it was made without consideration of their remorse and rehabilitation. A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for next week.
Spontana, however, said the executions would not be delayed.
“Their legal options were exhausted after their clemency was rejected by the president,” he said. “The next step is execution.”
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