Indonesia court adjourns death row Australians’ appeal

An Indonesian court has adjourned the latest legal bid by two Australian drug traffickers on death row to avoid the firing squad, saying they will not be executed until appeals filed by several convicts are completed.

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the ringleaders of the so-called “Bali Nine” drug trafficking gang, were sentenced to death in 2006 for trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.

Their appeals for presidential clemency, typically a death row convict’s final chance of avoiding the firing squad, were recently rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The two Australian nationals are expected to be executed at the same time as eight other drug convicts, including nationals from France, Brazil, Nigeria, Ghana and the Philippines, as well as one Indonesian.

Jakarta State Administrative Court Chief Judge Ujang Abdullah reads a statement during a hearing at the Jakarta State Administrative Court in Jakarta on March 12, 2015. (© AFP)

On Thursday, the Jakarta administrative court adjourned the pair’s appeal against the denial of their clemency until Wednesday. A final ruling will be delivered in early April, following two more hearings.

In its latest bid to avoid the execution of the two convicts, the Australians’ legal team said Widodo failed to assess their rehabilitation or give reasons for his decision.The bid was dismissed by the Jakarta State Administrative Court last month.

Judge Ujang Abdullah said during the Thursday hearing that the president’s legal team argued the Supreme Court had ruled that it was the president’s right to reject clemency, saying the decision could not be challenged.

State prosecutor Muamer Risko (L) and lawyer Leonard Aritonang (R) representing the Australian death row prisoners submit documents to Jakarta State Administrative Court Chief Judge, Ujang Abdullah (R seated) on March 12, 2015. (© AFP)Caption

“We call on the judges to reject the challenge filed,” he said.

Indonesian authorities originally said the two convicts would be put to death in February, but later announced that they would delay the executions to allow the pair more time with their families.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Wednesday that the executions “should have been carried out weeks ago, but some have filed a judicial review in the courts.”

“The attorney general has delayed it to wait for the judicial reviews, so there won’t be any legal problems afterwards.”

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has warned Indonesia of a tough diplomatic response if Jakarta executes the two convicted Australians.

“If these executions go ahead, and I hope they don’t, we will certainly be finding ways to make out displeasure felt,” Abbott said on February 15.