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| Myuran Sukumaran, Kerobokan prison |
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran could remain on death row for weeks after Indonesia’s attorney general said that appeals for their fellow prisoners would have to be finalised before any executions took place.
The Indonesian authorities have said the execution of 10 inmates will take place at the same time, meaning that at the very least it will take weeks before all legal appeals are exhausted.
“Executions will be done when everything is clear, whether it be in March or in April,” said attorney general spokesman Tony Spontana on Thursday.
A judicial review lodged by Serge Altaoui, a Frenchman on death row with the two Australians, was this week adjourned until 25 March.
The legal wranglings deepened on Thursday when a final appeal at the administrative court in Jakarta lodged by lawyers for Chan and Sukumaran was adjourned until 19 March after the court refused to accept the authority of president Joko Widodo’s legal representation.
Lawyers for the Bali nine pair were appealing a decision made by the same court in February contesting the president’s blanket refusal to grant clemency to the drug traffickers.
But the panel of three judges hearing the appeal on Thursday adjourned the case saying they did not recognise the authority of the president’s legal representative from the state secretariat. The judge said the president’s legal representative did not have “surat kuasa” or letter of authority.
The judges said the government representative did not have the correct paperwork signed by the attorney general to grant him valid legal representative authority.
Lawyers acting for the Australian men declined to comment on the ruling.
Already transferred to the prison island off central Java, the site of their planned execution, Thursday’s ruling will give the Bali nine pair, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, at least another week of reprieve.
Source:
The Guardian, March 12, 2015
Jakarta thumbs nose at Canberra offer on Bali Nine pair
Indonesia said it had rejected an offer from Australia to pay the cost of life imprisonment for two Australian drug smugglers if they are spared the firing squad, as Jakarta signaled the executions might not take place for weeks.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made the offer in a letter to her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi as Canberra explores all avenues to convince Jakarta not to execute Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
They are among several foreigners, including a Frenchman, a Brazilian, three Nigerians and convicts from Philippines and Ghana, who are expected to be executed.
However, the attorney-general's office confirmed today they would stick to an initial plan of putting all the offenders to death at the same time, meaning the date might be pushed back for some time as authorities wait for several to complete legal appeals.
“As discussed, the Australian government would be prepared to cover the costs of the ongoing life imprisonment of Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran should a transfer not be possible,'' Bishop wrote in the letter, released by her department.
“The vast majority of Australians very strongly support the government's efforts to seek clemency for Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran.''
But Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said later that the offer of paying for the men's imprisonment had also been rejected.
“The death penalty has already been decided by the courts,'' he told AFP. “This is not a negotiation, a legal decision has been taken.''
The spokesman added Jakarta “regretted'' that the details of the ministers' communications appeared to have been leaked by Canberra, as “diplomatic norms dictate that we do not communicate or do our diplomacy through the media.’’
Source: Agence France-Presse, March 12, 2015
Bali Nine Executions: Australia Offers To Pay Indonesia Prison Cost To Save Duo From Death Penalty
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| Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, Indonesia |
Indonesia is not likely to execute foreign nationals on death row -- including two Australian citizens said to be part of a drug smuggling ring known as the Bali Nine -- in the country for another 16 days, Reuters reported. The report had earlier mentioned that the death row inmates would likely not be executed for the next 12 days.
The Indonesian foreign office on Thursday also rejected Australia’s offer to pay for the cost of imprisonment of the Australian duo who are among those awaiting execution.
"We emphasize that this is not an issue of negotiation," Armanatha Nasir, a spokesman for the Indonesian foreign office, said, according to Reuters, adding: "This is upholding the law. If a country starts to negotiate law, that is a form of violation. So I emphasize that there is no negotiation."
However, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that she did not have an official confirmation about Indonesia's decision on Australia's latest offer, after discussions with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi. "These were preliminary discussions. I'm yet to have a response on that specific issue," Bishop said, according to Reuters.
Update as of 1:54 a.m. EDT: Indonesian officials reportedly signalled on Thursday that foreign nationals on death row in the Asian country may not be executed for at least another 12 days, Reuters
reported.
A decision over an appeal for clemency in the case of two Australians -- part of the Bali Nine drug-smuggling ring -- was postponed to March 19, the report added. A court also postponed a decision on a separate appeal by a French convict, to March 21.
Source:
International Business Times, March 12, 2015
