Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Monday, February 16, 2015

Australia pair to be sent to Indonesia execution site

by Louise Healy, Xian Wan, and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Jakarta


Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are among a group of prisoners Indonesia is transferring to the Nusa Kambangan jail to face death by firing squad.
The two were ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug-smuggling group.
Australia is continuing to protest against the executions.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday he believed there were still legal options open to the pair and their legal teams.
Six other individuals - from Brazil, France, Ghana, Nigeria, Indonesia and the Philippines - are also being moved to the high-security prison.
Indonesian officials have not said when the executions will take place. But chief spokesman for Indonesia's Attorney General, Tony Spontana, said there would be no delay.
"We have already received the rejection letter from the president about their clemency and it's final," he said, according to a report by AP.
"The next step is execution."
Indonesia's Nusa Kambangan prison, where the executions are due to take place
Australian embassy officials discussed the planned executions with the Indonesian authorities on Monday
The transfers come despite a sustained campaign of official appeals by the Australian government on behalf of the two Australians, including a personal appeal from Mr Abbott to Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
"Like millions of Australians, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach when I think about what is quite possibly happening to these youngsters," Mr Abbott said.
However, he added he did not want to "peddle false hope".
Chan and Sukumaran, along with seven other Australians, were arrested in Bali in 2005 for trying to smuggle more than 18lb (8.3kg) of heroin from Indonesia to Australia.
Australian media on Monday reported that the men's lawyers had written to the Indonesian judiciary alleging judges had asked for bribes for lighter sentences.
The other seven members of the "Bali Nine" are currently serving either life or 20 years in prison.

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