Indonesia set to execute 7 foreigners
President Joko Widodo's hard line on drug traffickers likely to cause consternation among allies whose nationals face the firing squad
PUBLISHED : Friday, 30 January, 2015, 3:19am
UPDATED : Friday, 30 January, 2015, 3:19am
Agence France-Presse in Jakarta
Convicts Andrew Chan (left) and Myuran Sukumaran. Photo: AP
Indonesia is ready to execute seven foreign drug convicts on death row after their appeals for presidential clemency were rejected, an official said, in a move certain to set Jakarta on a collision course with international allies.
They include two Australian leaders of the "Bali Nine" drug-smuggling gang, who have been on death row for almost a decade. The pair lost their appeals in December and earlier this month.
A spokesman for the attorney-general's office revealed late on Wednesday that a further five foreigners, from countries including France, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana, have also lost appeals.
Local media reported that the fifth was a woman from the Philippines, and the foreign ministry in Manila said it was working to prevent the execution.
Four Indonesians - only one of them convicted of drugs offences - had also lost bids for clemency.
"The attorney general's office now has 11 convicts on death row ready to be executed," spokesman Tony Spontana said late on Wednesday.
Indonesia earlier this month executed six drug offenders, including five foreigners, prompting a furious Brazil and the Netherlands - whose citizens were among those put to death - to recall their ambassadors.
Drug offenders from Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria were also among those killed.
Despite his image as a reformist, Indonesia's new president Joko Widodo has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment for drug offenders, disappointing human rights activists who had hoped that he would take a softer line.
He has repeatedly stated he would show no clemency to drug traffickers.
In an interview earlier this week, Widodo vowed: "We are not going to compromise for drug dealers. No compromise. No compromise."
"Imagine, every day, we have 50 people die because of narcotics, because of drugs," he said. "Indonesia is in the position of a drug emergency. We need to have something that's firm and a positive law in Indonesia still allows the death penalty."
Spontana said a decision had not yet been made on when or where the convicts would be executed, only that more than one would face the firing squad in the next round.
The Frenchman is Serge Atlaoui, who has been on death row since 2007, Spontana confirmed.
The Australians set to be executed, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8kg of heroin out of Indonesia.
Sukumaran's appeal for clemency was rejected in December, and Chan's was rejected earlier this month.
That removed the final hurdle preventing their deaths, as Indonesian authorities said they must be executed together as they had committed their crime together.
In his interview, Widodo was asked: "So no relief for the Australians?" He responded by shaking his head.
Lawyers for the pair are planning a last-ditch appeal to their convictions but the attorney-general's office has said that further legal challenges are not possible.
Australia's Foreign Minister Julia Bishop said last week she would not rule out recalling her country's ambassador should the executions be carried out.
Additional reporting by Reuters
