France’s President Francois Hollande warned Saturday that Indonesia would face diplomatic consequences if it executes Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who is among a group of 10 men on death penalty over drug trafficking offenses. The news comes a day after families of the convicts headed to Indonesia before the scheduled executions by firing squad.
By Suman Varandani @suman09 [email protected] on April 25 2015 7:02 AM EDT
France’s President Francois Hollande warned Saturday that Indonesia would face diplomatic consequences if it executes Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who is among a group of 10 men on death penalty over drug trafficking offenses. The news comes a day after families of the convicts headed to Indonesia before the scheduled executions by firing squad.
“If he is executed, there will be consequences with France and Europe because we cannot accept this type of execution,” Hollande told reporters during a visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, adding that the execution of its citizen would be “incomprehensible” and its repercussions would likely be of a “diplomatic” nature.
Consular officials are reaching a town near the prison island of Nusakambangan off the Javanese port of Cilacap where the executions will take place, Gulf News reported Saturday. The Indonesian government reportedly provides 72 hours’ notice to the convicts, their families, lawyers and governments before the executions. The date of the executions is yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the families of the foreign victims issued mercy pleas before the firing squad on Saturday.
“My brother made a mistake 10 years ago and he’s paid for this mistake every single day since then,” Brintha Sukumaran, the sister of Australian drug trafficker Myuran Sukumaran, the ring leader of Bali Nine group, said in a YouTube video, according to reports. “From the bottom of my heart, please President Widodo have mercy on my brother … change punishment for humanity.”
The foreign convicts — two from Australia, one each from Brazil, France and the Philippines, and four from Africa — have all lost appeals for clemency from President Joko Widodo.
The judicial review of the 10th convict, an Indonesian national, is still pending, and the ruling on the case could be made as early as Monday, the Supreme Court said, according to the Gulf News.