Serge Atlaoui: "His return is a miracle", rejoices his wife Sabine

The French welder, sentenced to death for drug trafficking in 2007, landed in France on February 5. RTL collected the testimony of his wife, Sabine, who has not seen him since 2019. "Shattered", she is happy to see him again.

Atlaoui spent nearly 20 years in Indonesian prisons, including 17 on death row.

The welder was arrested in 2005, then sentenced to death in 2007 for drug trafficking. Initially sentenced to life in prison, his sentence was reviewed by the supreme court and changed to death on appeal.

He was due to be executed alongside eight others in 2015, but was granted a reprieve after Paris applied more pressure and the Indonesian authorities allowed an outstanding appeal to proceed.

The Frenchman has always maintained his innocence in this case.

Atlaoui's return was made possible after an agreement between French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and his Indonesian counterpart, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, on January 24. In the agreement, Jakarta said it had decided not to execute Atlaoui and authorized his return on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill.

Under an agreement last month between both countries for his transfer, Jakarta left it to the French government to grant him either clemency, amnesty or a reduced sentence.

For his loved ones, and especially his wife Sabine, his return is synonymous with immense relief and the end of 19 long years of waiting and fear. "All these years of incarceration, in fact, this is the moment I was waiting for. Leaving prison means that he is really on the way back," she testifies on RTL.

A return filled with emotion

"I thought I was going to be a little more serene, but I am shaken. There is a lot of joy, in fact. And then, we are eager to see him. Yes, I think that with everything that has happened in 19 years, it is largely understandable. We have been through so many things. So now, he is on the way. I know that tomorrow, he is in France", rejoices Sabine Atlaoui.

"We will not be there because Serge did not want us to. He wants to see us when he is a free man," Serge Atlaoui's wife said.

But before being able to find him, we will have to wait a little longer. Serge Atlaoui will first remain in prison until his fate has been decided by a French court or he receives a presidential pardon. "We are filled with joy and happiness. But I am already at the next stage because I want to see him and I would like to see him live his freedom", Sabine Atlaoui said.

Serge's lawyer: "A very, very moving moment for both of us"

Serge Atlaoui has been back in France since February 5, but he is not yet free. He is incarcerated in Ostny prison in Val-d'Oise while waiting to find out how his sentence will be adapted. His lawyer Richard Cédillo was finally able to see him again on Thursday.

"It was a very, very moving moment for both of us. We were able to talk for a long time, which allowed us to talk about the rest of his case, obviously because that is the most important thing today, but also to recall some memories and it was very touching," he says.

Back in his country, Serge Atlaoui feels "a form of serenity," assures his lawyer. "Even though he is in prison right now, he is no longer on death row, even though he spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia, 17 of which were on death row," he said.

"Now we know he is here and we know he is going to get out. My job now is to make sure he gets out as soon as possible."

There are currently at least 530 inmates on death row in Indonesia, according to the human rights organisation Kontas, referencing official figures.

Among them 90 foreigners, including at least one woman, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Correction.

The Indonesian government recently signalled it will resume executions, on hiatus since 2016.

Source: RTL, Staff; DPN, February 7, 2025

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but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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