Indonesia executes foreigners for drug crimes, spares Filipina

An Indonesian police firing squad boards a boat in Cilacap to cross to Nusakambangan maximum security prison island on April 28, 2015, ahead of the planned execution of drug convicts. Azka/AFP Photo

JAKARTA // Indonesia executed seven foreigners for drug smuggling including two Australians, the Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday, a move that risks intensifying tensions between the Asia-Pacific neighbors with a history of diplomatic rifts.

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the leaders of a gang of nine young Australians arrested for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian island of Bali in 2005, were killed by firing squad, the paper said, quoting the attorney general’s office.

The two men were part of a group of eight from countries such as Nigeria and Brazil executed alongside an Indonesian.

Filipino Mary Jane Veloso was spared after a person who allegedly recruited her as a drug courier went to police in the Philippines on Tuesday, the Jakarta Post said.

Australia, which opposes the death penalty, made more than 50 appeals for clemency, with prime minister Tony Abbott saying that executing the pair would be “beneath” Indonesia and against its best interests.

The stand-off is the most serious since 2013 when Mr Abbott refused to apologise amid reports Australia spied on Indonesia’s leaders.

Indonesia’s government said in December it would put to death 64 convicts, including foreigners.

President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, has allowed the death penalty for drug crimes after a pause under the previous government, and repeatedly said he would not show mercy for smugglers. His government rejected Australia’s proposal for a prisoner swap.

Australia has not stated if it will recall its ambassador to Jakarta or impose other sanctions after the executions. Trade minister Andrew Robb, who is attempting to sign a free-trade agreement with Indonesia, shelved a delegation to the nation due to the increased tensions.

Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said on Saturday she was “deeply and profoundly concerned” at the prospect of the men being executed.

French president Francois Hollande warned beforehand of “consequences” if the executions proceeded.

Philippine president Benigno Aquino had spoken with Mr Jokowi on Monday in Malaysia – where the two attended the Asean summit – to call for leniency in the case of Veloso, saying she had been duped into being an unwitting carrier of drugs.

After Indonesia executed six people in January for drug trafficking, Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in protest.

Chan and Sukumaran were part of a group now known as the Bali Nine caught carrying 8 kilogrammes of heroin at the island’s airport in 2005.

In calling for clemency, Mr Abbott said in February that Indonesia should remember Australia’s aid to the nation in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Indonesia’s foreign ministry responded that “no one responds well to threats”.

* Bloomberg