Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have become infamous across Indonesia, as diplomatic relations with Australian worsen over the two men that Indonesia prepares to execute for their leading role in a drug smuggling operation 10 years ago.
You could even say they’ve reached celebrity status, which became apparent today as photos started getting shared across social media like crazy of an Indonesian police officer with both Australians while on the Wings Air plane ride from Bali to their execution site in Central Java.
Extra measures were reportedly taken to keep the media from snapping photos of the Bali Nine pair’s arrival at Nusakambangan prison island, but apparently police were not told off from getting some of their own exclusive pictures.
In the pictures circulating, an Indonesian officer looks at ease and even a bit happy to be with Chan and Sukumaran who are surrounded by heavily uniformed Brimob military officers. On the flip side, the Australians look less than thrilled to have their photos taken by the men who are handing them over to their executioners. No shock there that they wouldn’t exactly be up for the photo op.
According to Business Insider Australia, the officer who so boldly (and tastelessly—if it was intentional) posed with each Bali Nine drug smuggler is Denpasar Police Chief Djoko Hari Utomo.
However, Utomo has told Fairfax Media that the photos are not posed. He told Fairfax that he had no idea that the pictures were being taken and he was just trying to raise the spirits of the Bali Nine pair.
“It was not a selfie moment,” he said, as quoted by Fairfax Media. He said he patted the prisoners’ shoulders and encouraged them to “Be tough, be strong, and keep going”.
Despite Utomo’s denial that the photos were posed, the one with Chan sure does look a bit suspicous.
The photos were apparently released by Indonesian media Kompas and Tribun, but it’s not clear how the news organizations got their hands on these photos.
