Bali Nine duo's bodies return to Australia

The coffins were carried on Qantas flight 42, which
landed in Sydney just before dawn, at 6:13am

The bodies of executed Bali duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have arrived at Sydney airport after the final leg of their journey home to Australia.

It has also been revealed the executions may have been considered illegal under international law, and an Australian request to submit the case to an international court was ignored, according to reports.

The coffins were carried on Qantas flight 42, which landed in Sydney just before dawn, at 6:13am. Chan's widow, Febyanti Herewila, Sukumaran's parents and siblings, and Australian officials were also on board the flight.

The flight was the last leg in Chan and Sukumaran's journey home to Australia, after they were killed by an Indonesian firing squad on Wednesday morning.

Australia's ambassador asked Indonesia for consent on March 10 to explore whether the execution was illegal before the international court, but Foreign Minister Julie Bishop revealed on Friday she still has not had a reply, according to Fairfax Media.

The bodies of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are
escorted from the tarmac following their arrival

According to reports, Australian officials were given strong legal advice by ANU academic Don Rothwell and Sydney barrister Chris Ward the men's execution were illegal under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The treaty, which was signed by Indonesia in 2006, states the death penalty can only be given for 'the most serious crimes'.

Advice provided to Ms Bishop and the Australian government reportedly stated: 'Drug trafficking does not constitute such a crime when it involves no prima facie harm or violence to another person.'

Before leaving Indonesia, the coffins carrying the bodies of the Australians were carried around Jakarta airport on a forklift, in preparation for the seven-hour flight.

Loved ones of the Bali nine duo who left the country on an earlier flight, including Chan's brother, Michael, and mother, Helen, touched down in Sydney after 10.30am AEST on a Garuda Airlines flight on Friday.

Click here to read the full article (+video/photos)

Source: Mail Online, May 1, 2015

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