Indonesia postpones execution of 2 Aussie convicts
Indonesia has announced plans to postpone the execution of two convicted Australian drug smugglers on death row amid a tense standoff between Jakarta and Canberra over the fate of the two prisoners.
The execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were arrested in 2005, “will be delayed for between three weeks to a month from now due to technical reasons,” Husain Abdullah, the spokesman for Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Friday, without disclosing further details.
The Australian convicts were sentenced to death a year after they were arrested for trying to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin out of the Indonesian resort island of Bali into Australia.
The two are the only members of the so-called Bali Nine drug-smuggling ring on death row. The remaining Bali Nine members were sentenced to life or 20 years in prison.
In a similar announcement earlier this week, Jakarta said it would delay the execution of the drug offenders to allow them more time with their families. However, Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo insisted that Indonesia will not yield to pressure and is determined to carry out the executions.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had earlier warned Indonesia of a severe diplomatic response if Jakarta goes ahead with executions.
The Australian premier also lashed out at the Jakarta government for trying to save its own citizens on the death row in other countries while rejecting Canberra’s pleas for clemency for the two Australians.
Canberra has also warned that it may boycott traveling to Indonesia if Jakarta proceeds with the executions.
Last month, Indonesia executed six convicted traffickers, including foreigners from Malawi, Brazil, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Vietnam.
Brazil and the Netherlands later recalled their ambassadors in Indonesia after the Southeast Asian country brushed aside their appeals for clemency and executed their citizens over drugs offenses.
More than 138 people are on death row in Indonesia mostly for drug crimes. Drug offenders face harsh punishments, including death penalty, in the country. About a third of the convicted people are foreigners.
HJM/MKA/HMV
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