Indonesia summons diplomats ahead of execution
Protesters pause for a prayer as they gather outside the Indonesian Embassy in Makati City to appeal to the Indonesian government to spare the life of convicted Filipino drug trafficker Mary Jane Veloso Friday. AP
JAKARTA–The Indonesian government has summoned foreign embassy officials to the prison island where nine convicted foreign drug smugglers, including Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso, and one Indonesian are due to be executed.
Diplomats confirmed to the BBC that they had been told to go to Nusakambangan prison island on Saturday.
The request could suggest the executions, which also include the two Australian ringleaders of the Bali Nine heroin-smuggling gang, are imminent.
An execution date has not been set — convicts must be given 72 hours of notice.
Aside from Veloso, the prisoners facing execution include nationals from Brazil, France and Nigeria, as well as the two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Veloso was transferred to Nusakambangan on Friday.
BACK STORY: Indonesia orders execution of Veloso, 9 others
Authorities have said the 10 inmates will be executed together but no date has been given.
Earlier, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office said that prosecutors had been told to begin making preparations for the executions.
“This order has been issued so that the officials make preparations concerning their roles,” said spokesman Tony Spontana, as quoted by AFP.
Local media reported that all the prisoners except for the sole Indonesian convict had exhausted their appeals in the Supreme Court, though appeals are continuing for others in lesser courts.
Leonard Arpan, an Indonesian lawyer for the Bali Nine pair, expressed concern over the latest developments.
“I am hoping that the Indonesian government will respect the ongoing legal proceedings and not make a decision on executions until these proceedings have finished,” he told the BBC.
“We’ve filed the Constitutional Court challenge for the Bali Nine [pair] and we are waiting for a result [from] the court [on] that.”
Indonesia has faced heavy criticism from the countries whose nationals are facing execution.
Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who took office in 2014, has a policy of denying clemency to drug offenders, saying the drug trade has caused huge damage to Indonesia.
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