An Indonesian court on Monday (April 6) rejected last-ditch legal challenges by Australian drug convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are facing execution by firing squad.
They had challenged the court’s decision not to hear an appeal against President Joko Widodo’s refusal of clemency.
The rejection of their challenge means that the two men have exhausted all avenues of legal recourse, according to a spokesman for the Attorney General.
Their legal team said they will still file for a review.
“Of course I am not satisfied with the judgement today, but indeed we will have to respect what the court has decided. But is not stopping us to give our continuous effort and therefore we are about to file a constitutional review to (the) constitutional court asking the court to redefine, to emphasise what the president obligations (are) in relation with the clemency,” said plaintiff lawyer Leonard Arpan Aritonang after the court session on Monday.
Chan and Sukumaran were convicted in 2006 as the ringleaders of a plot to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.
The Australian pair are among 10 drug convicts due to be executed by firing squad on the prison island of Nusakambangan. Others in the group include citizens of France, Brazil, the Philippines,Ghana, Nigeria and Indonesia.
Widodo has denied clemency to the convicts despite repeated pleas from Australia, Brazil and France.
Sukumaran and Chan in February had sought to challenge the President’s blanket rejection, with their lawyers arguing that he did not give due consideration to each case. The administrative court originally dismissed their cases on the grounds it did not have the legal authority to assess it.
The attorney general is awaiting the outcome of legal appeals by three remaining death row inmates before setting a date for the executions. His office’s spokesman has previously said the intention is for all executions to be carried out together but they could be conducted in batches.
Indonesia has harsh penalties for drug trafficking and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap.
(Reuters)
