After much build up over the past couple of weeks, Bali Nine death row inmate Andrew Chan has reportedly lost his bid for presidential clemency.
The Guardian is reporting that a letter received by the Denpasar district court today has confirmed the rejection of Chan’s appeal.
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Chan, 31, is a convicted ring leader of a group of Australians dubbed the Bali Nine, who tried to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin out of Bali back in 2005. He has been on death row for his conviction along with fellow conspirator Myuran Sukumaran, 33.
The pair hoped to have their death sentences commuted under previous Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but the former leader finished his term without hearing their appeals, leaving with Indonesia’s new President Joko Widodo to deal with them.
Jokowi has been vocal about his administration’s zero tolerance for drug trafficking and had six drug offenders executed last weekend. The president has vowed to executed 20 of the country’s 64 death row drug offenders, so that was the first round.
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Though the president had already rejected Sukumaran’s clemency bid with a letter dated on December 30, 2014, Sukumaran was apparently kept alive to wait for the decision on Chan’s appeal. According to Indonesia’s attorney general, Chan and Sukumaran committed the crime together so they should be executed together.
Reports haven’t flat out said that it’s totally over for Chan and Sukumaran, but not the decision has been formally handed down about Chan, it’s not clear how the pair can evade the firing squad much longer. Though the Guardian reports that while presidential pardon was considered the pair’s last chance, their legal team is working on a PK, an Indonesian appeal that allows cases to be reviewed further as new evidence is presented. This new evidence would likely contain demonstrations of Chan and Myuran’s rehabilitation, reform, and good character.
Photo by AFP
