Bali Nine lawyers say signals Jakarta will delay execution are encouraging
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Version 0 of 1. Lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have welcomed indications Jakarta will respect the ongoing legal appeals of several of 10 prisoners Indonesia is preparing to execute. The Bali Nine pair were on Wednesday moved from their Bali jail for execution on Central Java’s Nusa Kambangan. Their wait for execution was expected to be so brief – a required minimum 72 hours – that they were allowed to take only a plastic bag each containing clothes and a Bible. Now they could be there for days or weeks, as Indonesian authorities wait for several prisoners’ legal options to run their course. Indonesia’s attorney general HM Prasetyo can’t confirm when the executions will take place or how many prisoners will meet the firing squad. Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has welcomed the news, saying she is hopeful “in my heart” that the development might reflect a change of mind by Indonesian authorities. Lawyer for Chan and Sukumaran, Todung Mulya Lubis, also welcomed the news. “I’m pleased to hear it, so let’s wait for the legal processes, that’s how it should be,” he said. Lubis has challenged the clemency rejection for Chan and Sukumaran, arguing the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, didn’t follow due process when he didn’t assess their circumstances. The administrative court threw out the challenge and he’s now appealing, with a date set for the same Jakarta court for Thursday. The lawyers are also pursuing a complaint in the judicial commission after a former lawyer for Chan and Sukumaran alleged interference in the first trial that ended with them sentenced to death. Chan and Sukumaran provided a statement about the cash-for-leniency claim, but the ex-lawyer himself has yet to detail his recollections. The commission is considering the case. Prasetyo’s view of the ongoing legal processes has shifted considerably in the past week. On Monday he told reporters: “If there’s already clemency [rejected], there should be no more other legal challenges submitted.” On Friday his spokesman said: “We want to respect the ongoing legal process.” It is an anxious time for Chan and Sukumaran’s Sydney families, who remain in Cilacap, the departure point for Nusa Kambangan, and have yet to see the men since their transfer. Their Melbourne barrister, Julian McMahon, Australia’s consul general Majell Hind and other lawyers visited the men on Saturday, but families must wait until regular visiting hours on Monday. |