Bali Nine Drug Smuggler Andrew Chan Denied Clemency in Indonesia, To Face Death Penalty

Andrew Chan has been denied clemency by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The Bali Nine drug smuggler is now a step closer to his death sentence.

Mr Widodo officially rejected the 31-year-old Australian ringleader’s plea on Thursday with a letter delivered to the Kerobokan Prison. The letter was signed on January 17, and did not include the reason for the refusal.

The clemency denial means Chan is set to be executed by firing squad at a date and place to be determined by the attorney general. His Bali Nine co-leader Myuran Sukumaran has also been denied clemency earlier in January.

Attorney General HM Prasetyo previously said that Sukumaran and Chan would be executed at the same time as they committed their crime together. With Chan’s clemency plea also denied, the authorities can now put to death the two Australian drug smugglers.

Chan’s Indonesian lawyer, Todong Mulya Lubis, expressed his disappointment over how the president did not even give an explanation to his decision. “This is hurting the country’s image,” he told Reuters.

He added he will be filing a second judicial review next week for Chan and Sukumaran in an apparent last bid to save them from the death penalty. However, he also admitted that it would be difficult because the duo’s presence in court would be required before they can lodge the second judicial review, or PK. Bringing of death row inmates in court would require a lot of security apparatus to guard them.

Chan and Sukumaran were arrested on April 17, 2005 in Bali as they were trying to smuggle illegal drugs from Indonesia to Australia. They were part of a group of nine, dubbed by the media as the Bali Nine. As they were revealed to be the ringleaders of the group, the two received the death penalty, while the six others – Si Yi Chen, Michael Czygaj, Renae Lawrence, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens – were given long prison sentences.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has previously urged Mr Joko to grant clemency to Chan and Sukumaran, saying the two were “well and truly reformed.” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, on the other hand, said earlier this week that she would not rule out recalling the Australian ambassador in the Asian country if the executions take place.