Crime
New Indonesian President Rejects Bali Nine Clemency, Australians Face Firing Squad
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran behind bars in Bali cell
BALI – After two years of waiting for clemency from Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Australian Nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have had their request rejected.
President Jokowi said during a lecture at Gadjah Mada University “I will reject clemency request submitted by 64 death convicted of drugs cases” which includes Australian Nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo stands with his predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at his swearing in ceremony in October
According to Indonesian news website Kompas.com, President Jokowi said that most of the prisoners had “destroyed the future of the nation”.
He said the rejection of clemency served as “important shock therapy” for drug dealers, traffickers and users.
Mr Joko’s new policy will condemn Chan, Sukumaran and more than 60 other drug prisoners to the firing squad.
The comments come just a week after the president announced that five convicts would be executed by the end of the month.
However, it’s not known if the two Australians will be among those put to death.
Sources also cautioned that Jokowi’s predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had previously made promises about rejecting clemency bids.
“The president ordered authorities to carry out the legal process accordingly,” the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Tedjo Edi Purdjianto, was quoted on Thursday as saying on the Cabinet Secretariat’s website.
More than 60 people are sitting on death row in Indonesian prisons, but only five people have exhausted their legal appeals and they include foreigners, Tedjo said.
“They will be executed after a letter from the attorney-general is signed by the president,” he said.
Australian drug smugglers knows as the “Bali Nine”: (top from L to R) Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence, and (bottom row L to R) Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephen and Andrew Chan
Sukumaran and Chan were among nine Australian nationals arrested in April 2005 for their involvement in a plot to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia.
The other seven members of the Bali Nine, including the group’s sole female member, Renae Lawrence, were given sentences of either life or 20 years, Sukamaran and Chan were sentenced to death on February 14, 2006.
Executions in Indonesia are usually carried out by firing squad.
Five more foreigners, from Hong Kong and Malaysia, were arrested this week as they allegedly tried to smuggle 80 Kg of crystal methamphetamines through a port near the capital of Jakarta.
