By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Ten death row inmates on an Indonesian penal island have been notified they will face the firing squad in coming days, a spokesperson for the attorney general said Sunday.
Tony Spontana said the executions of nine foreigners and one Indonesian convicted of drug offenses will likely be carried out Tuesday, and will not be hindered by any factors other than rough weather conditions.
"If there are obstacles, such as thunderstorms, then the execution can be carried out the next day," Tempo.co quote him as saying.
He explained that a date for the execution would be set by Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo, who was waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on a final appeal by Indonesian inmate Zainal Abidin that is expected to be announced Monday.
"The Attorney General will announce [the execution date] tomorrow," Spontana added.
He said the legal processes of all ten inmates had concluded with the exception of Frenchman Serge Areski Atlaoui, who filed an appeal at the Administrative Court immediately before the execution preparations.
The execution plans would not be affected by a second judicial review petition by Filipina Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, according to Spontana, since her first petition – the only one permitted by the Supreme Court -- had been rejected in March.
A lawyer for Nigerian Raheem Agbaje Salami, Utomo Karim said each of the 10 convicted were individually notified Saturday about their executions, which would take place Tuesday, tribunnews.com reported.
On Saturday afternoon, foreign embassy officials, lawyers and prosecutors met the death row inmates on Nusa Kambangan island to deliver the 72-hour notice given by the Indonesian government.
During this period, the convicted will be able to submit their last wishes to prosecutors.
Local and foreign journalists have crowded around Wijayapura Port in Cilacap, the only point from which to cross to Nusa Kambangan, Detik.com reported.
Two Australian inmates -- Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan – were visited Sunday by their family members and representatives from the Australian embassy.
The planned executions have drawn protests from the governments of the inmate’s countries and the European Union.
French President Francois Hollande warned Indonesia that there would be diplomatic consequence if the country followed through with the death sentences. He is set to discuss the issue with Australia’s prime minister Monday once Tony Abbott arrives in Paris.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said that France should understand that the executions are a legal matter rather than a diplomatic one, while the country’s attorney general referred to such threats as common during the execution process.
Meanwhile, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III vowed Sunday that he would appeal for anything that might spare the life of Veloso when he meets his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo at the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, GMA News reported.
“Recalling that the United Nations opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, the Secretary-General urges President Joko Widodo to urgently consider declaring a moratorium on capital punishment in Indonesia, with a view toward abolition,” he said in a statement.
Outside of the Australian, Philippine and French nationals, those set to be executed include: Martin Anderson from Ghana, Zainal Abidin from Indonesia, Rodrigo Gularte (Brazil), Raheem Agbajee Salami, Okwudili Oyatanze and Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise (Nigeria, although Salami is travelling on a Spanish passport).
