Execution of of Bali Nine Leaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran Might Be Kept Secret From Their Families

The execution of Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will go ahead, and the Indonesian government doesn’t even have to inform their families or the media of the plan. Denpasar District Chief Prosecutor Imanuel Zebua said the Australians will be executed this month, and the move would be kept secret.

Zebua said they had requested instructions from Attorney-General HM Prasetyo on the transfer of Chan and Sukumaran from Kerobokan prison to Nusakambanga, where the first batch of drug offenders were executed in January. The date and venue of the execution have not been determined yet, but even when the officials have got hold of the necessary details, they would not be informing the families or the media.

“It could be on the day before the execution and we don’t have to tell the family first,” Zebua told reporters, adding, “We also don’t want to tell you [media] either. You could be waiting for us at the airport.”

The statement came despite lawyers for Chan and Sukumaran announcing that they would be challenging President Joko Widodo’s refusal to give the Australian convicts clemency. Human rights lawyer Todong Mulya Lubis recently said that Mr Widodo claimed he rejected the duo’s bid for clemency because the country is in a state of emergency due to drugs. But according to the lawyer, the president cannot reject all clemency petitions based on drug emergency situations.

Bali Nine Lawyers to Challenge Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Court Over Clemency Rejection

The defence team had hoped Chan and Sukumaran’s executions would be put on hold, pending the court action, but Prasetyo firmly said there would be no delay. Chan and Sukumaran are expected to be executed within the month.

“Barbaric” Death Penalty

Meanwhile, 2GB radio host Alan Jones has slammed Indonesia’s continued rejection of Australia’s plea for mercy for Chan and Sukumaran. During the “Q&A” program on ABC on Monday, a friend of Sukumaran, Kavita Krishnan, broke down after reading a letter written by the 33-year-old death row inmate. Jones called the execution “barbaric.”

“I find it just incomprehensible that these people can’t yield to pleas for clemency,” the 73-year-old conservative radio commentator said. He reminded viewers that although Indonesia has the right to do as they please, the Asian country should remember that Australia supported them when they needed help in the past.

“Someone has to get on this phone to this bloke, Widodo, and simply say, ‘Well you do what you like, but we gave you a billion dollars when you were hit by the tsunami,” Jones said, referring to the 2004 Boxing Day disaster that hit the nation.

His biting words weren’t exclusive for Indonesia, though. Jones also criticised the Australian Federal Police for its role in the capture of the Bali Nine gang.

The AFP was tipped off by the father of Scott Rush, a member of the group. Instead of waiting for the drug smugglers to return to Australia, where they were planning to sell the 8.3 kg of heroin that was found in their possession, the police alerted the Indonesian authorities, who arrested the group before they left the country.

Rush and the other members – Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence, Michael Czugai and Si Yi Chen – were sentenced to long imprisonment. Chan and Sukumaran, however, were given capital punishment after they were learnt to be the leaders of the group.

“So what do we get in return for the noble behaviour of the federal police? Two dead Australians. It’s a shame on the Indonesian system, but a pronounced shame on the federal police system,” Jones declared.