Indonesia rejected a clemency plea submitted by A convicted Australian drug trafficker on Thursday (January 22), a step that could further strain the tense relations between the two countries.
Andrew Chan was convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesian and sentenced to death in 2006. He was arrested along with Myuran Sukumaran, in 2005.
Sukumaran was also sentenced to death. His clemency appeal was rejected last month.
Both were members of the so-called Bali 9, a group of Australians convicted of attempted heroin smuggling.
The letter from Indonesia’s presidential office stated that there’s not enough reason for the clemency to be granted for the native of Sydney.
“The letter says the appeal of clemency filed by Andrew Chan is rejected,”Hasoloan Sianturi, a spokesperson of Denpasar District Court, told reporters in his office.
He said there are a number of other steps that must be taken before an execution date is set.
“Now we receive the document and we will deliver it to the head of the district court, who will send the letter to prosecutor office and the jail that he is in,” said Sianturi.
Indonesia executed six drug offenders last Sunday (January 18). Five of the six were foreigners.
The executions prompted Brazil and Netherlands to recall their ambassadors.
Australia and Indonesia have a long history of diplomatic tensions, which have periodically complicated cooperation on regional issues including people smuggling and intelligence.
Reuters
