The Indonesian government said
Thursday it had ordered officials to make preparations to execute a group of
drug convicts, most of them foreigners, despite mounting international
criticism.
The attorney general’s office also
revealed that a Filipina among the group will be moved on Friday to a prison
island where the executions will take place, joining other death row convicts
already there.
Ten convicts — from Australia, France,
Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria, Ghana and Indonesia — will face the firing squad
at the same time after recently losing appeals for presidential clemency,
typically the final chance to avoid execution.
Tony Spontana, the spokesman for the
attorney general’s office, told AFP that a senior official in the office had
“ordered officials in charge of executions to make preparations for an
execution”.
No date has been set for the
executions. Convicts must be given 72 hours notice before being put to death,
and Spontana said that those awaiting execution had not yet been given this
notice.
Authorities were now waiting for the
Supreme Court to decide on an appeal lodged by the Indonesian convict among the
group, Spontana said.
His is the final Supreme Court appeal
pending, and a decision is expected soon. The court on Tuesday rejected appeals
by Frenchman Serge Atlaoui and Martin Anderson from Ghana.
Death row convicts can pursue appeals
in other courts — and several in the group facing execution are doing so — but
they are seen as having little chance of success, and authorities say such
efforts simply attempts by condemned prisoners to buy time.
Foreign countries have been heaping
pressure on Indonesia to change course over the executions. Australia has
mounted a sustained diplomatic campaign to save two Australians among the
group, ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” drug-trafficking gang.
Since Atlaoui’s appeal was rejected,
France has also dramatically stepped up pressure on Jakarta.
French President Francois Hollande has
warned his execution could seriously damage bilateral ties, and Foreign
Minister Laurent Fabius wrote a letter to his Indonesian counterpart, raising
concerns about Atlaoui’s trial.
Despite the criticism, President Joko
Widodo has insisted that the executions will go ahead, saying that Indonesia is
facing an emergency due to rising drugs use.
The answer is to stay out of drug.
ReplyDeletedear Ugochi, this men are only fighting for their daily bread, but it's very obvious they are doing it wrongly, the government had to temper justice with mercy over their lives.
ReplyDeleteHowever, dear we @ braveheartnaija appreciate your comment.