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Australian Andrew Chan (L) and Myuran Sukumaran wait in a temporary cell for their appeal hearing in Denpasar District Court in Indonesia's resort island of Bali September 21, 2010. They are members of a group known as the Bali Nine, arrested in April 2005 in Bali with 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin strapped to their bodies. Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death in 2006. They requested for a judicial review for their death sentence to be reduced to 20 years jail. REUTERS/Murdani

Australian convicts Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have apparently lost their chances against the death sentence. Indonesia's Attorney General HM Prasetyo has said that the Bali Nine drug offenders will be next in line to face the firing squad.

There have been strong appeals against the death sentence. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier said that Australia would make "the strongest possible representations" without hurting ties with Indonesia. Indonesia rejected the initial appeal by stating that there would be no leniency for drug smuggling. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that he would not grant clemency to any prisoners convicted on drug charges.

According to Prasetyo's office, the option for an appeal against the sentence is no more available. It was earlier reported that the Australian convicts were not on the list of the next round of executions. However, Prasetyo said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday that they were "included" in the next group of prisoners to face the firing squad. "We have heard that many Australians support the execution and it is one of the things that pushes us to feel we are not making a mistake," the BBC quotes Prasetyo.

Prasetyo said that the timing of the executions was not finalised yet. He said that Indonesia was waiting for the “right time.” Various conditions such as the weather would be considered to finalise the timing. Ninemsn reports that, according to Prasetyo, the judicial aspects for Chan and Sukumaran were “finished.”

Indonesia is one of those countries in the world that has extremely strict laws against drug trafficking. Its four-year moratorium on executions ended in 2013. Indonesia resumed executions earlier in January. It executed six drug convicts. Five of them were foreign nationals from Brazil, Vietnam, Nigeria, Malawi and the Netherlands. The other convict was an Indonesian. In response, Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors.

Australia has warned that it will take similar actions like Brazil and the Netherlands if Chan and Sukumaran face the firing squad. It is assumed that diplomatic relations between the two countries will be affected if Indonesia decides not to pay heed to Australia’s appeal. Australia has been campaigning against the death penalty.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au