Andrew Chan, a ringleader for Australia's drug-smuggling "Bali Nine", has had his clemency plea rejected, a local court has announced.
He and eight other Australians were arrested in Bali in 2005 with more than 18lb (8.3kg) of heroin.
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were found to be the leaders of the group and sentenced to death.
Both have now exhausted all avenues of appeal. Australia has urged Indonesia not to go ahead with the executions.
A spokesman confirmed to the BBC that the decision was made on 17 January.
Earlier this month Sukumaran also had his clemency appeal turned down. No date has been given for the execution by firing squad.
Australian on Indonesian death row loses clemency bid
An Australian drug smuggler on death row in Indonesia has lost his appeal for presidential clemency, his final chance to avoid the firing squad, an official said Thursday, days after Jakarta executed five foreign drug offenders.
The Indonesian government said last week the trafficker, Andrew Chan, would be put to death with another Australian drug smuggler, Myuran Sukumaran, as they had committed their crime together.
Sukumaran's clemency appeal was rejected last month, and the attorney general had said authorities were waiting for the outcome of Chan's appeal.
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| President Joko Widodo |
There was no immediate response from the Indonesian authorities as to when the pair might be executed. New President Joko Widodo has taken a tough line on capital punishment, vowing no clemency for death row drug convicts.
The men were among a group of Australians, dubbed the "Bali Nine", arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle eight kilograms of heroin out of the Indonesian resort island of Bali.
Both men were sentenced to death in 2006, and sought presidential clemency after losing appeals to Indonesia's Supreme Court in 2011. They are jailed in Bali's Kerobokan prison.
A spokesman for the district court in the Balinese capital Denpasar said he had received a "presidential decree on the rejection of clemency for Andrew Chan".
"The court chief then instructed... that the convict be informed," he said.
The letter, which was signed on Jan. 17 and seen by AFP, said: "After careful consideration of the clemency appeal of the convict as listed in the presidential decree, it is assessed that there is not enough reason to grant clemency to the convict."
Fears are growing Chan and Sukumaran could face the firing squad soon, after Indonesia defied international appeals and went ahead with the execution of six drugs offenders, including five foreigners, at the weekend.
Source: Agence France-Presse, January 22, 2015
Planned execution of two Aussies unlikely to affect Bali
The planned execution of two Australian death-row convicts is not expected to have any negative impact on the good bilateral ties between Indonesia and Australia and to the inflow of Australian tourist to Bali, says Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika.
“No, it will not affect it. The situation will remain normal, it will not have any effect,” kompas.com quoted him as saying in Denpasar on Thursday.
Two Australian citizens Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, members of the so-called Bali Nine, are among 133 death-row convicts waiting for their turn to be executed. Sukumaran and Chan, currently detained in Kerobokan Prison in Denpasar, Bali, were jailed for their attempt to bring in 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Bali in 2005. The Attorney General’s Office executed five foreigners and one Indonesian sentenced to death in Nusakambangan and Boyolali, Central Java, on Sunday.
Separately, head of the Bali Provincial Tourism Agency Anak Agung Yuniarta concurred and said Indonesia and Bali would continue boosting their good bilateral ties with Australia and a number of cooperation projects benefitting the two countries were still underway in the province.
“We hope the planned executions will not pose any problem to the countries’ bilateral ties and the tourism industry in the province. Bali, which has become a second home for many Australians, will not be affected,” he said.
Source:
The Jakarta Post, January 22, 2015
Chan loses bid for death penalty clemency
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan will face an Indonesian firing squad together unless an extraordinary court appeal or diplomatic efforts succeed.
Bali court officials on Thursday confirmed presidential clemency had been denied to Chan, 2 weeks after his fellow Bali 9 ringleader, Sukumaran, received the same news.
It extinguishes his last hope of being spared the death penalty for the 2005 heroin trafficking plot.
Denpasar District Court spokesman Hasoloan Sianturi said the letter arrived at 1.20pm local time on Thursday.
"The letter's content is Presidential Decree Number 9/G year 2015 regarding clemency rejection for Andrew Chan," he said.
"The head of the district court then told me to register and make a disposition, and tell the convicted.
"The presidential decree was for only 1 convict, Andrew Chan."
Lawyers for the Sydney pair are preparing an application for a judicial review, an extraordinary appeal to re-consider their case.
Earlier on Thursday, Jakarta-based lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis and Melbourne-based barrister Julian McMahon met Chan and Sukumaran at Kerobokan prison.
Mr Lubis told reporters they had discussed plans for a judicial review, a mechanism that's in dispute among Indonesia's courts.
The constitutional court has allowed for prisoners to request more than one judicial review to re-examine their circumstances, but the supreme court argues the reviews should only be considered once.
Mr Lubis says the move is about ensuring all avenues available to Sukumaran and Chan are explored.
"The constitutional court realises the courts must give the maximum ... effort to ensure all convicted people receive justice," he said.
Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, desperately want a 2nd chance to use their lives for good, he said.
"I believe there have been lots of changes within them and I had truly hoped that their clemency requests would be granted by the president," he said.
While the judicial review submission is being prepared, Bali's courts are also considering whether the pair could personally front the court for the hearing.
Mr Lubis says the petitioner is usually required to front the courts, but in this case, the prisoners are from the super-maximum section and would require additional security.
The courts will make a decision next week.
On Sunday, an Indonesian and 5 foreigners were executed by firing squad despite pleas for clemency.
Ahead of the executions, Indonesia's attorney-general said Sukumaran's execution was on hold until Chan's clemency decision because they would be executed together.
President Joko Widodo argues Indonesia is in the grips of a drug crisis that needs the "shock therapy" of enacting the death penalty.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Mr Joko to show mercy to the 2 "well and truly reformed" Australians.
Federal opposition leader Bill Shorten said Labor would continue to support government representations for both Chan and Sukumaran.
"We urge clemency for anyone facing the death penalty, whoever and wherever they may be," he said.
Source: sbs.com.au, January 22, 2015
