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Paris in 'full diplomatic efforts' to save Frenchman Serge Atlaoui from Indonesia firing squad
Date April 30, 2015 - 3:26AM
French national Serge Atlaoui was on death row with the Australian Bali nine duo before his execution was delayed. Photo: Getty Images
Paris: France said on Wednesday it was mobilising all diplomatic options in a bid to save Frenchman Serge Atlaoui from death row in Indonesia on drug charges following the execution of seven foreigners.
"Full diplomatic efforts continue on this issue," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told a cabinet meeting according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.
In this March 25, 2008 Serge Atlaoui (right), Frenchman on death row, is seen with wife Sabine Atlaoui (left) during a visit at Nusakambangan prison island. Photo: AFP
Indonesia's overnight execution of the convicts - two from Australia, one from Brazil and four from Africa - drew a storm of protest abroad but President Joko Widodo defended the deaths by firing squad as merely applying "the rule of law" against drug traffickers.
Atlaoui, 51, was originally among the group set to be executed but was unexpectedly granted a temporary reprieve after Indonesia agreed to allow an outstanding legal appeal to run its course.
French President Francois Hollande has warned that Indonesia would face diplomatic "consequences" if it pushed ahead with the execution of Atlaoui over drug-trafficking offences.
Sabine Atlaoui, the wife Serge Atlaoui, holding their son Yasen Atlaoui (right) while they wait to visit him on Nusakambangan prison island where the Indonesian authorities plan to execute him. Photo: Kate Geraghty
France has condemned the executions in Indonesia of seven foreign drug convicts and says it remains concerned about the fate of a Frenchman also on death row in the Asian country.
Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze, and Ghanaian Martin Anderson were executed in the early hours of Wednesday.
The government "reiterates its opposition to the death sentence, in all cases and all circumstances", said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Romain Nadal.
French President Francois Hollande has warned that Indonesia would face diplomatic 'consequences' if it pushed ahead with the execution of Serge Atlaoui over drug-trafficking offences. Photo: Reuters
The French authorities "are fully mobilised to help Serge Atlaoui, whose situation remains very worrying", Nadal said in a statement, expressing his government's "solidarity" with the countries whose nationals were put to death.
A Filipina woman who was set to suffer the same punishment was spared, however.
The Philippine government expressed delight at the reprieve for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, whose case attracted emotive appeals for mercy from boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, among others.
Convicted Filipina drug smuggler Mary-Jane Veloso, who received a last-minute reprieve. Photo: AFP
"The Lord has answered our prayers," Foreign Affairs department spokesman Charles Jose said, as activists holding a vigil in front of the Indonesian embassy in Manila broke into cheers and hugged each other.
Veloso was spared after someone suspected of recruiting her and tricking her into carrying drugs to Indonesia turned herself in to authorities in the Philippines.
The execution of the Brazilian, Rodrigo Gularte, has generated much criticism in his homeland, with his family saying he should not have faced the firing squad because he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has defended the executions of seven foreigners by firing squad as following the law of the land. Photo: Getty Images
Gularte's cousin was observed leaving the port crying, accompanied by a religious counsellor.
The Brazilian government expressed its "deep dismay" at his execution and interim foreign minister Sergio Franca Danese said Brazil was "evaluating" its relationship with Indonesia after its repeated appeals for clemency were ignored.
President Joko Widodo has been a vocal supporter of the death penalty for drug traffickers, claiming Indonesia is facing an emergency due to rising narcotics use.
He has turned a deaf ear to appeals from the international community, led by United Nations Chief Ban Ki-moon.
Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International's research director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, labelled the executions "utterly reprehensible".
New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he was "dismayed" by Indonesia's decision to carry out the executions.
"New Zealand is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all cases, and under all circumstances," he said.
Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark also expressed her disappointment.
AFP
