Jakarta (AFP) - An Indonesian court will Thursday hear an
appeal by two Australian drug smugglers on death row against President Joko
Widodo's refusal to grant them clemency, a last-ditch effort to halt the
looming executions.
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the ringleaders of the
so-called "Bali Nine" drug smuggling gang, were sentenced to death in
2006 for trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.
Their appeals for presidential clemency, typically a death
row convict's final chance of avoiding the firing squad, were rejected by
Widodo.
Widodo, a vocal supporter of the death penalty for drug
traffickers, claimed that Indonesia is facing an "emergency" due to
rising narcotics use.
The Administrative Court last month dismissed a bid to
challenge that decision, saying clemency was the president's prerogative which
it had no right to overturn.
Their lawyers had since lodged an appeal against that
dismissal and were awaiting judgement.
View galleryIndonesia moving 2 Aussies, 5 other foreigners
for …
Australian death row prisoners Andrew Chan (C) and Myuran
Sukumaran (L) are seen in a holding cell w …
"The next hearing on Thursday will be the response from
the president's team about our challenge," one of their lawyers, Doly
James, told AFP.
"The reason for the rejection of clemency was unclear,
when we had been very clear why these two deserved clemency," he said.
Indonesian authorities last week moved the pair from Bali to
the prison island of Nusakambangan, indicating that they would soon be
executed.
They are among a group of drug convicts, including
foreigners from France, Brazil, the Philippines, Nigeria and Ghana, who are
expected to be executed at the same time on the island.
The looming sentences have sparked diplomatic tensions
between Australia and Indonesia, with Canberra warning that the execution of
the two Australians would have implications, not just in Australia but
globally.
Widodo stood firm on the executions, and last week rejected
the offer of a prisoner swap proposed by Canberra.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott at the weekend said he
had "requested a conversation" with Widodo.
"I've had several conversations already with him on
this subject. I've requested another one. At this stage, it hasn't been able to
be arranged," he said.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/death-row-australians-last-ditch-bid-halt-executions-093408664.html
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