Cilacap, Indonesia – Indonesia made final preparations Tuesday to execute eight foreigners by firing squad, as family members wailed in grief during last visits to their loved ones and ambulances carrying white coffins arrived at the drug convicts’ prison.
Relatives of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the Australian ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” heroin trafficking group, arrived at Nusakambangan prison calling for mercy for their loved ones, with Sukumaran’s sister collapsing in grief, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Chan and Sukumaran are among nine prisoners — eight of whom are foreign and one Indonesian — facing death after authorities gave them final notice of their executions at the weekend.
The families have been asked to say their final goodbyes by Tuesday afternoon as signs indicated the death sentences would be carried out by early the next day.
Australian media have published photos of crosses that will be used for the coffins, inscribed with Wednesday’s date, 29.04.2015.
An AFP reporter at Nusakambangan, the high-security prison where the convicts are awaiting their sentence, said ambulances carrying the empty white coffins had arrived.
The convicts, who have been held in isolation cells since the weekend, also include nationals from Brazil, the Philippines and Nigeria.
President Joko Widodo, who believes Indonesia is facing an emergency due to rising drugs use, has signalled his determination to push on with the executions despite mounting international condemnation led by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Indonesian Attorney-General Muhammad Prasetyo told AFP the authorities will not announce a date before the executions.
Manila Bulletin
