Indonesia to 9 Foreigners: State Your Last Wish

Outcry as execution of convicted drug traffickers nears
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 27, 2015 10:37 AM CDT
Indonesia to 9 Foreigners: State Your Last Wish
Australian Consul-General in Bali Majell Hind, center in a black shirt, rides on a boat that will take Australian Embassy officials and relatives of two Australians on death row for drug offenses.   (AP Photo/Wagino)

The execution of 10 convicted drug traffickers is imminent in Indonesia, with the country this weekend issuing a 72-hour notice for the nine foreigners and one local man; the Guardian reports that means they could be put in front of a firing squad as soon as midnight Tuesday, local time. Officials have asked the men—four Nigerians, two Australians, and one each from Brazil, France, and Indonesia—and Filipino woman for their last wish, per the AP, with the attorney general today confirming the executions would take place, reports the BBC. But leaders and organizations from around the world are undeterred, and are increasing their cries for intervention—and their warnings. Philippines President Benigno Aquino asked that Mary Jane Veloso be granted clemency, and a rep for Indonesian President Joko Widodo today indicated he was "sympathetic."

France and Australia have been bolder in their statements. French President Francois Hollande has warned of diplomatic consequences if Serge Atlaoui is executed; the Sydney Morning Herald today reports Australia may recall its ambassador to Indonesia if the executions occur, though it didn't name its source of that information. A rep for Indonesia's attorney general says nine are out of legal options, with Atlaoui's pending appeal likely to be settled by the country's Supreme Court today. But the two Australian men to be executed—members of the Bali Nine—have a case before Indonesia's Constitutional Court; their original lawyer says the trial judges offered a lighter sentence in exchange for a $77,000 bribe, reports the AP. (More Indonesia stories.)

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