Australian Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran’s transfer to their execution site in central Java has come to a startling halt, reportedly at the request of the Indonesian attorney general.
The Bali Nine pair were due to move this week to Nusakambangan Island, a prison in central Java, to face the firing squad. The announcement was made just Monday.
However, Attorney General HM Prasetyo told ABC that the delay is because of requests from Australia and will let the death row inmates spend more time with their families.
ABC is also reporting that the transfer was supposed to go down Tuesday night.
According to the Guardian, the pair’s lawyers say they have reason to believe that their last-ditch legal appeal is moving forward and that the prisoners should not be moved until the legal process is completed.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo had stated that he refused clemency because the country is facing a “drug emergency,” but reports have shown the president’s statistics to be faulty. The Australian pair’s legal team is appealing Jokowi’s decision on the basis of this “drug emergency.”
A lawyer for the pair told press on Monday that the legal team has a meeting with the head of the administrative court scheduled for February 24.
Photo by AFP
