Summary
I’ll wrap up our live coverage of the Indonesian executions for today. I’ve listed some of the key developments below, but before we get to that, we have one final update from our reporter Kate Lamb in Jakarta.
She writes:
Eva Sundari, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the same party to which President Joko Widodo belongs, has told the Guardian the executions are likely to boost the popularity of the president at home.
“Several polls show support for this policy is high. One poll even showed that 90% agree,” said Sundari.
With that in mind, here’s what happened today:
- The bodies of four of the men executed in Indonesia’s Nusa Kambangan Island prison in the early hours of Wednesday morning are on their way back to their home countries. Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte and Nigerian Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise all requested to have their bodies returned home. The remaining four - Indonesian Zainal Abidin and Nigerians Raheem Agbaje Salami, Martin Anderson and Okwuduli Oyatanze will be buried in Indonesia.
- All eight men reportedly faced the 126-man firing squad without blindfolds, singing Amazing Grace.
- Although Filipina woman Mary Jane Veloso was spared from the firing squad this morning, Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo and President Joko Widodo have both said her sentence is “postponed, not cancelled,” saying that “even if she is discovered to be a victim of human trafficking, the fact is that she was caught bringing heroin to Indonesia.”
- Australia has withdrawn its ambassador from Indonesia, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying, “We respect Indonesia’s sovereignty but we do deplore what’s been done and this cannot be simply business as usual.”
- Prasetyo dismissed Australia’s actions as “just a momentary reaction”.
- Former Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has explained that he cancelled a planned trip to Australia this week because Australia was “very emotional” and he did not want to be “at odds” with the position of President Widodo.
- The executions have prompted fresh calls for a review of the actions of Australian Federal Police in tipping-off Indonesian authorities about the Bali 9 drug syndicate involving Chan and Sukumaran. Crossbench MPs Clive Palmer and Cathy McGowan have announced they’ll put forward legislation to outlaw Australia from sharing information that could lead to Australian citizens facing the death penalty.
My colleagues Michael Safi, Jonathan Watts and Kate Lamb have summarised events in more detail. You can read their report here.
Updated
Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo has told reporters in Cilacap that this morning’s executions were conducted “humanely”.
Reporter Dina Indrasafitri, who is in Cilacap, filed this dispatch:
Prasetyo came to Nusa Kambangan Island, Central Java, where the executions were carried out, on the same day of the executions to conduct inspections and receive reports on the process.
He said that all eight prisoners were executed at the same time by firing squads. The execution time was 00.35am. The prisoners were declared dead three minutes later.
All shots were fired accurately, Prasetyo said.
“I would like to say that the second part of the execution is better and more orderly compared to the first one. We conducted evaluations on things need to be perfected…” he said, adding that everything was treated “humanely.”
After the executions, the remains of those eight prisoners were washed, placed in coffins and handed over to families and representatives from the deceased’s home countries.
“Out of the eight executed, four, according to their last requests, are to be buried in their home countries. Two in Australia, one in Brazil, and one in Nigeria,” Prasetyo said.
Zainal Abidin, the only Indonesian among the eight, was buried in Cilacap, where Nusa Kambangan island is located, the same morning. Raheem Agbaje Salami is to be buried in Madiun, East Java, and Martin Anderson in Bekasi, West Java.
“All that are in line with their last requests, and we have fulfilled all that was possible to be fulfiled,” he said. “Seven remains have been transported. Four are to be transported to their home countries, with the handover process to be carried out in Jakarta.”
The fourth Nigerian man, Okwudili Oyatanze, will be buried in Ambarawa, Central Java.
Worth reiterating at this point that Indonesia is one of just 58 countries that allow the death penalty. My colleague, Nick Evershed, produced this map a few weeks ago of all 607 executions carried out last year.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo has reiterated comments made by Attorney General HM Prasetyo in Cilacap, telling the Jakarta Globe the execution is only delayed, not called off altogether.
Widodo told Jakarta Globe:
We did not cancel the execution. We only delayed it after we received a letter from the Philippine authorities about an ongoing investigation of a human trafficking case there.
My colleague, Kate Lamb, in Indonesia, says the national police have told the media they are prepared to investigate whether Mary Jane Veloso, convicted of smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Yogyakarta, was indeed a victim of human trafficking.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten and opposition foreign affairs spokesperson Tanya Plibersek spoke to reporters in Canberra earlier today. Both urged Australians not to take their anger over the executions out on ordinary Indonesians.
Plibersek said:
We are deeply heart and deeply troubled that those pleas for mercy have been ignored. So of course there will be a time that our relationship is put under pressure.
Here’s the full video.
Indonesian Attorney-General HM Prasetyo has quashed the hopes of supporters of death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso that the Filipina woman might be granted clemency for drug smuggling on the grounds she was a victim of human trafficking, telling reporters on Wednesday that being a victim “will not erase Mary Jane’s criminal responsibility.”
Reporter Dina Indrasafitri filed this dispatch from Cilacap:
Indonesia’s Attorney General HM Prasetyo repeatedly said during a press conference that Mary Jane Veloso’s death sentence is “postponed, not canceled”. The Philippines national was initially scheduled to be executed this morning along with eight others who were also on death row. But, according to Prasetyo, Indonesian President Joko Widodo decided to respond to the Philippines government’s official request that Indonesia postpone the execution, in order to give Velozo a chance to testify in human trafficking cases. “That was why, in the end, we decided to respect the legal process going on in the Philippines, postponing the execution.” National Police Chief Comr. Gen Badrodin Haiti said that his institution is ready to investigate whether Veloso was a victim of human trafficking.
Prasetyo repeatedly said, however, that Veloso’s attempt to smuggle heroin into the country would still be taken into account. “Even if she was discovered to be a victim of human trafficking, the fact is that she was caught bringing heroin into Indonesia. [Being a victim] will not erase Mary Jane’s criminal responsibility,” he said. He refused to answer whether Veloso’s sentence would be reduced if she was discovered to be a victim, but said that she was allowed to file another case review. When asked about any plan to implement a moratorium on death penalty, Prasetyo said that he would “have to think about it.” “Particularly if we relate that to Indonesians facing death penalty in other countries. Let’s say we implement a moratorium on death penalty, will other countries do the same? There’s no guarantee, right?”
Former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has posted a lengthy message on twitter explaining that he postponed his visit to Perth to avoid conflict over the executions. Yudhoyono was supposed to be the keynote speaker at an Asia-Pacific leadership forum at the University of Western Australia on Friday, where he has also been named a visiting professor and senior fellow with the Perth USAsia Centre.
Yudhoyono says that the political, social and security situation was “not conducive” for his visit, and he decided to cancel after consulting with Indonesia’s Australian ambassador. These quotes are only a rough translation. His tweets, in bahasa, are below.
Australian society is very emotional and had demonstrations in several cities, related to the execution of its citizens on death row.
After consultation with the Ambassador For Australia and key officials in Jakarta, I decided to cancel my visit. When faced with the onslaught of protests and press inquiries, I may not be at odds with the state, the government and our President.
I do not always agree with the ways governments deal with (handling) international relations, but we have sovereignty. As Indonesia respects the sovereignty of other countries, so other countries also have to respect our sovereignty and our legal system.
Yudhoyono goes on to say that he spent his 10 years in office striving to increase friendship and cooperation between Australia and Indonesia, and said he was hoping to talk to the UWA forum about ways “the current disturbed relationship can be restored”.
However, the situation is not conducive to doing that. Rather than counter-productive, I decided to postpone For my visit to Australia.
Masyarakat Australia amat emosional & lakukan unjuk rasa di sejumlah kota, terkait eksekusi terpidana mati warga negaranya. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Tuan rumah & kedutaan Indonesia mengindikasikan selama berada di Perth akan terjadi hal-hal yang bisa mengganggu. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Setelah berkonsultasi dgn Duta Besar RI utk Australia & pejabat utama di Jakarta, saya putuskan utk membatalkan kunjungan saya. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Ketika menghadapi protes & gempuran pertanyaan pers, tidak mungkin saya berseberangan dgn negara, pemerintah & Presiden kita. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Memang saya tak selalu setuju dgn cara-cara pemerintah menangani (handling) hubungan internasional, tetapi kita punya kedaulatan. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Sebagaimana Indonesia menghormati kedaulatan negara lain, negara lain juga mesti menghormati kedaulatan & sistem hukum kita. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Namun, situasinya belum kondusif utk itu. Daripada kontra produktif, saya putuskan utk menunda kunjungan saya ke Australia. *SBY*
— S. B. Yudhoyono (@SBYudhoyono) April 29, 2015
Updated
Darwin-based Indonesian diplomate Andre Omer Siregar has tweeted this statement, apparently defending the Indonesian attorney general, HM Prasetyo.
AGO: The execution for convicted drug case means that the Indonesian Government is at WAR w/ drug crimes & NOT to antagonize other countries
— ANDRE OMER SIREGAR (@aosny2011) April 29, 2015
The AGO also conveyed deep condolences to the families and the countries whose citizens were included in the execution. This is no easy task
— ANDRE OMER SIREGAR (@aosny2011) April 29, 2015
The AGO: This was a very difficult situation &it had be completed by the Indonesian Govt. It brought us no joy in doing what had to be done.
— ANDRE OMER SIREGAR (@aosny2011) April 29, 2015
The Jakarta Post reported earlier that Prasetyo’s spokesman, Tony Spontana, told reporters on Wednesday that the executions began at 12.35am and all eight men were confirmed dead by 1.02am.
Updated
Reporter Kate Lamb says the bodies of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have arrived at a funeral home in West Java.
They were taken by ambulance from the prison island of Nusa Kambangan, the same way the empty coffins arrived on Tuesday.
The bodies of both men will be flown back to Australia to be buried. Lamb said no family members were present at the funeral home.
If you’ve been on social media at all today, you’ve probably seen comments suggesting that Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and the six men shot alongside them,should not be eulogised because 1) drugs are responsible for hundreds of deaths each year, and 2) they knew the punishment for drug trafficking.
Bayside Church pastor Christie Buckingham, a friend of both Chan and Sukumaran and Sukumaran’s nominated spiritual adviser in his final hours, has also seen those comments. This was her response:
@asepoz YES! Why wouldn't we ? And why wouldn't we keep reformed people alive ??? To show then they can live another way ???
— Christie Buckingham (@CIBuckingham) April 29, 2015
Updated
Speaking of Mary Jane Veloso, it seems several newspapers in the Philippines were caught out by her last-minute reprieve, and instead ran front pages today announcing that she had died. Reports that Veloso had been spared began to surface just before midnight Indonesian time – that’s 1am in Manila.
This from AFP:
“Death came before dawn” read the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s dramatic headline, above a large photograph of condemned Filipina maid Mary Jane Veloso, 30, whose plight has captivated the nation.
Manila’s best-selling Filipino-language tabloid, Abante, ran a black-themed front page together with a picture of Veloso, head bowed, and a headline in capitals that translates as: “Farewell, Mary Jane”.
The Manila Bulletin told the story across three print runs: “We’re hoping for a miracle”, “No delay in execution” and, on the last edition, “Veloso granted reprieve”.
Updated
Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipina who was granted a last-minute stay of execution last night, has always maintained that she did not know she was carrying heroin into Indonesia.
This extract is from an unedited account of her story, as told to the Rappler. You can read the whole thing, complete with some pretty heartbreaking illustrations, here.
The aluminum foil open and inside the aluminum foil have a powder the color is a lightbrown… the men check the powder… then the powder change to become solid! The men said.. you know this? I answer I don’t know what s that?? All laughing he said this is kind of drugs a heroin… Oh my God !!! my body feel so cold… I cant speak any thing… only I can do that time… cry and cry!!! Because I know my life finish!!!
Updated
Summary
Well, it’s been an intense and exhausting 24 hours so I will take a moment to break down the key points:
-
Mary Jane Veloso was spared from the execution in Indonesia, hours before she was supposed to be shot along with eight men. Rodrigo Gularte, Raheem Agbaje Salami (also known as Jamiu Owolabi Abashin), Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Martin Anderson, Zainal Abidin, Okwuduli Oyatanze, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad after midnight on Wednesday local time.
- Australia has withdrawn its ambassador from Indonesia for “consultations” and the prime minister, Tony Abbott ,says the relationship between the two countries cannot be “business as usual”.
- Indonesia’s attorney general, HM Prasetyo, has responded by saying the withdrawal is “momentary” and the executions were necessary.
- Relations between Brazil and Indonesia, which were already deteriorating, are set to worsen after Gularte became the second Brazilian executed in Indonesia this year. The Brazilian foreign ministry declared the death sentence “unacceptable” and “contrary to the common sense and basic standards of human rights protection”.
- Veloso’s lawyer is confident her temporary pardon could be turned into a cancellation of her conviction if it is proven Veloso was the victim of human trafficking.
- The role of the Australian federal police in the arrest of the Bali Nine is being scrutinised with a senator calling for a review of their actions and two other MPs preparing to introduce legislation making it illegal to outlaw information-sharing that could lead to the death penalty being applied in foreign countries.
I’ll now hand the reins of the live blog to my very capable colleague Calla Wahlquist. She will guide you through the rest of the afternoon as the ramifications of the execution of eight men in Indonesia continue to be felt.
Updated
A rundown of a few the front pages of newspapers in Indonesia today, from Kate Lamb:
The main English dailies, the Jakarta Post and the Jakarta Globe, are both carrying the execution as the top story. Koran Tempo is leading with the story of Mary Jane Veloso and the decision to spare her life in the final hours before she was scheduled to face the firing squad.
Kompas, one of the most-read papers across the country, does not even show the story on the front page. The lead story is about the arrest of the Abraham Samad, the non-active head of the country’s anti-corruption body, who was targeted by the national police after he named a head cop a corruption suspect.
Front pages of Indonesian newspapers after the executions #Bali9 pic.twitter.com/1dgu1VLrMy
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) April 29, 2015
@bkjabour pic.twitter.com/6E40P8dkRo
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) April 29, 2015
Updated
Neighbours of Andrew Chan’s parents in Sydney have spoken about his execution.
I didn’t think it was going to happen ... It’s not fair, it’s really not fair.”
Updated
Scrutiny of the role of the Australian federal police in the arrest of the Bali Nine in Indonesia is intensifying as the day goes on.
Now the Independent senator Nick Xenophon has called for a fresh review of the actions of the AFP, and two other politicians are presenting legislation to parliament to outlaw information-sharing that could lead to the death penalty being applied in foreign countries, my colleague Daniel Hurst reports.
The legislation to be introduced by lower house MPs Clive Palmer and Cathy McGowan would create a new offence for public officials and former public officials “who disclose information resulting in a person being tried, investigated, prosecuted or punished for an offence that carries the death penalty in a foreign country”.
An official found guilty of such a disclosure could face a jail term of up to 15 years, with a mandatory minimum sentence of one year.
The offence would not apply to all disclosures. There would be an exception “if the foreign death penalty offence is constituted by conduct that involves a terrorist act or act of violence that causes death or endangers life”.
It is understood the AFP is preparing to make a statement but will not do it today. You can read the story in its entirety here.
Updated
And now for a comment on the executions from a completely unexpected source: Guns ‘n’ Roses frontman, Axl Rose, has spoken out in support of Mary Jane Veloso and criticised Indonesia for carrying out the other executions.
1. It's deeply troubling President Widodo ignoring International outcry went thru w/8 of the executions.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) April 29, 2015
2. Let's pray Miss Veloso's reprieve is permanent.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) April 29, 2015
3. Widodo's refusal 2 postpone the executions until all legal challenges n' investigations of corruption r resolved is inexcusable.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) April 29, 2015
4. 4 Widodo 2 b out of the country during his big statement refusing 2 take calls or read any last minute pleas 4 the condemned is cowardice
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) April 29, 2015
5. The People of Indonesia deserve better.
— Axl Rose (@axlrose) April 29, 2015
Updated
Indonesian foreign minister responds to ambassador withdrawal
The Indonesian foreign affairs minister, Retno Marsudi, has also responded to reports that Australia will recall its ambassador in Jakarta, noting that it is Australia’s right to do so, reports Kate Lamb.
The withdrawal of the ambassador, calling the ambassador for consultation, is the right of the sending country, in this case the right of Australia,” Marsudi said on the sidelines of an event at Bidakara hotel in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The foreign affairs minister said she had not received official notification of the withdrawal, but stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship.
Every time we communicate with Australia, we always emphasise the desire of Indonesia to continue the good relationship. For Indonesia, Australia is an important partner, and I think for Australia, Indonesia is an important partner.”
Updated
Australian ambassador withdrawal 'momentary': Indonesian attorney general
Indonesia’s attorney general, HM Prasetyo, says the withdrawal of the Australian ambassador from the country is only “momentary”, Dina Indrasafitri reports.
The Netherlands have done the same thing in the past. Brazil has done the same thing. I think this is just a momentary reaction, and this will be settled within the diplomatic sphere. What we are doing is carrying out the court decision. Every case should have an end.”
Speaking on Wednesday morning to a group of journalists after inspecting the execution site with the national police chief, commissioner General Badrodin Haiti, Prasetyo offered his condolences to the families of the eight men executed but said the executions were necessary.
I would like to say that an execution is not a pleasant thing. It is not a fun job. But we must do it in order to save the nation from the dangers of drugs. We are not making enemies of the country from which the executed last night came from. What we are fighting against are drug-related crimes.
Therefore, I would like to offer my condolences, on the execution of those who were on the death row, to their families, to their home countries. Once again, we are not against the countries, but we are fighting a war against the horrible drug crimes that threaten our nation’s survival.”
Updated
Updated
The speculation for the reason for Mary Jane Veloso’s temporary stay of execution has been confirmed, my colleague Kate Lamb reports:
On Wednesday morning the spokesman for the attorney general, Tony Spontana, confirmed the life of Mary Jane Veloso had been spared due to a last-minute appeal from the government of the Philippines.
The execution of Mary Jane has been postponed due to the request of the Philippines president [Benigno Aquino III] in relation to an alleged human trafficker who recently gave herself up in the Philippines,” Spontana told reporters.
The alleged human trafficker turned herself into police in Manila on Tuesday.
Updated
You can leave messages of condolence for the families of the men executed in Indonesia here on the Amnesty International page. Below are some of the messages.
Messages of condolence left for the families of the men executed in Indonesia https://t.co/67fAilN3dn pic.twitter.com/wfynlmEp2E
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) April 29, 2015
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) April 29, 2015
— Bridie Jabour (@bkjabour) April 29, 2015
Updated
My colleague and Mercy Campaign co-founder, Brigid Delaney, has written about preparing for the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran after years of hoping and working for clemency.
They tried to make it imaginable – the Indonesian industrial death complex – they made it all too real with their fighter planes and tanks and ghoulish selfies, and their construction of coffins and crucifixes and their rules and odd insistence that the condemned be ‘psychologically fit’ for execution.
They did all this. Yet it is still barely imaginable.
Updated
The executions have drawn attention once again to the role of the Australian federal police in the initial arrests of the Bali Nine. My colleague Paul Farrell has a look at the legal implications of the AFP tipping off Indonesian authorities:
In 2006 four of the Bali Nine – Scott Rush, Renae Lawrence, Michael Czugaj and Martin Stevens – initiated a case in the federal court to gain access to documents about the nature of the information provided by the AFP and that revealed substantial information about its role.
The application, which is known as “information discovery”, is a legal process that was initiated with the intention of gaining access to documents about the AFP’s role in order to advance three potential causes of actions.
These actions related to whether the AFP acted with lawful authority, whether the government had met the legitimate expectations of Australian citizens, and whether there was an action available in negligence.
The application failed. Justice Paul Finn found that the three causes of action were unlikely to succeed. But what did come out of it was a strong comment by Finn that the AFP needed to improve its policies surrounding information sharing with countries where the death penalty was in play.
At the outset of his judgment, Finn states:
The circumstances revealed in this application for preliminary discovery suggest there is a need for the minister administering the Australian Federal Police Act 1979 and the commissioner of police to address the procedures and protocols followed by members of the Australian federal police when providing information to the police forces of another country in circumstances which predictably could result in the charging of a person with an offence that would expose that person to the risk of the death penalty in that country. Especially is this so where the person concerned is an Australian citizen and the information is provided in the course of a request being made by the AFP for assistance from that other country’s police force. This said, the application to this court must be rejected. It reveals no basis for a reasonable cause to believe that the applicants may have a right to obtain relief in this court. Any later proceedings brought on the bases foreshadowed in this application would be purely speculative in character or else would have no prospects of success.
The AFP has consistently defended its role in the case of the Bali Nine. But one does wonder what information could have emerged had this application succeeded.
Here is a an excellent explanation of the AFP’s role in the arrests in Indonesia.
Updated
Flowers have been laid and candles lit outside the home of Andrew Chan’s parents in Sydney, Australia.
Updated
Relations between Indonesia and Brazil set to deteriorate
The execution of Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte by an Indonesian firing squad looks set to worsen already deteriorating relations between the two emerging economies, my colleague Jon Watts reports:
Despite seven foreign ministry appeals for clemency and a personal telephone call by president Dilma Rousseff, the Indonesian government went ahead with the shooting on Wednesday.
This has generated front-page headlines in Brazil and angry comments from the foreign ministry, particularly because Gularte had been twice diagnosed with schizophrenia, which – lawyers argued – made him unfit to stand trial.
Rousseff had asked Indonesian president Joko Widodo for the suspension of the death penalty on the grounds of doubts about the convict’s mental health.
The Brazilian government said it received the news of the execution with “deep sadness” and called it a ‘serious event’ in bilateral relations. The foreign ministry said it would strengthen the country’s determination to work with international human rights organisation to abolish the death penalty overseas.
In a letter sent on Monday to the government in Jakarta, the Brazilian foreign ministry declared the death sentence ‘unacceptable’ and ‘contrary to the common sense and basic standards of human rights protection’.
These appeals fell on deaf ears.
Gularte, who is from a wealthy family, in Paraná state, was caught at Jakarta airport in 2004 with six kilograms of cocaine hidden in a cavity in his surfboard. He is the second Brazilian to be executed in Indonesia this year. In January, Marco Moreira was also shot by a firing squad after being convicted of drug trafficking.
The earlier execution prompted a diplomatic crisis. Rousseff said she was ‘appalled and outraged’ by what happened, recalled the Brazilian ambassador in Jakarta for consultations and refused to accept the credentials of the new Indonesian ambassador in Brasilia.
The latest killing will prompt a further review of relations, according to diplomats.
‘Both governments had categorised their ties as strategic and important, but obviously the fact that so many presidential appeals and other efforts of the Brazilian government have failed to produce a satisfactory answer is something that should be evaluated,’ said the ambassador, Sérgio França Danese.
Updated
A British grandmother on death row in Kerobokan prison, which she shared with Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, says she is saddened by their executions.
In a statement released through her lawyer, Lindsay Sandiford, 58, who was sentenced to death in 2013 for attempting to smuggle £1.6m of cocaine into Indonesia, says Chan counselled her through the difficult time.
I didn’t know those men at the time they committed those crimes 10 years ago. What I can say is that the Andrew and Myuran I knew were men who did good and touched the lives of a great many people, including myself.
Myu and Andrew used their time in Kerobokan to make life better for everyone around them. They introduced the concept of rehabilitation to a prison that never had it before.
Updated
We have photos from the aftermath of the news breaking that Filipina Mary Jane Veloso’s life had been spared. Here are her sisters, Marites Laurente and Darling Veloso, arriving back from “execution island” after Mary Jane was granted a stay on her execution.
Here are protesters in the Philippines celebrating the news in the pre-dawn after keeping vigil at the Indonesian embassy in Manila.
Updated
Here is a very insightful report on what was happening diplomatically behind the scenes between Australia and Indonesia in the lead-up to the executions, and what the fallout looks like for the relationship between the two countries, from my colleagues Lenore Taylor and Gabrielle Chan. In it, they write:
The unsuccessful political and diplomatic effort to appeal to new Indonesian president Joko Widodo has been intense, increasingly desperate, often ‘creative’, but always couched in careful language of respect for Indonesia’s sovereignty as hope remained that the president might grant clemency.
And here is a comment piece by my colleague Gay Alcorn, saying that now the executions have happened, it is time to stop being polite.
Now we can say what these deaths were – the torture and murder of human beings by a neighbouring state.
Updated
Here are photos of the eight men who were executed in Indonesia in the early hours of Wednesday morning, all on drug smuggling charges.
They were:
- Nigerians Okwuduli Oyatanze, Martin Anderson, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise;
- Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte; Indonesian Zainal Abidin; and
- Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
The men all faced the executioners without a blindfold and sang songs, including Amazing Grace, together in the hours leading up to their executions, Fairfax Media is reporting.
You can read profiles of the men here.
In Brazil there is also great anger at the execution of Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian man diagnosed with schizophrenia. My colleague Jonathan Watts filed this report hours before the eight men were killed:
Indonesia’s decision to execute a Brazilian drug smugger has prompted an angry response in his home country, where the case has made front-page news.
Rodrigo Gularte, who has twice been diagnosed with schizophrenia, is set to be the second Brazilian to be shot by firing squad in Indonesia this year.
In a letter sent on Monday to the government in Jakarta, the Brazilian foreign ministry has declared the death sentence “unacceptable” and “contrary to the common sense and basic standards of human rights protection”.
Gularte, who is from a wealthy family in the state of Paraná , was arrested at Jakarta airport in 2004 with 6kg of cocaine secreted in a surfboard.
His lawyers have argued unsuccessfully that his history of mental illness made him unfit to stand trial. Gularte was first diagnosed with a mental illness in 1982, according to medical documents obtained by his legal team. He has twice been hospitalised for drug abuse and dropped out of three college courses.
Last year, doctors confirmed the schizophrenia diagnosis. Indonesia’s attorney general ordered a second opinion from police doctors, but this has not been made public, prompting criticism of the lack of transparency.
In Brazil, where the death penalty has not been used for more than 120 years, the case has generated huge interest and no little outrage. Four of the five top-read stories on the Folha de São Paulo website relate to Gularte.
His cousin Angelita Muxfeldt, who is in Indonesia, said Gularte has asked to be buried in Brazil. “I’ve been here for three months and never seen Rodrigo so calm,” she told the domestic media.
Leonardo Monteiro, charge d’affaires of the embassy of Brazil in Jakarta, said the convict alternated between lucidity and delirium, declaring the execution mere “theatre and fiction”.
Updated
Australia’s credibility in arguing for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran was tarnished by Canberra’s inconsistency about the death penalty, one of the men’s lawyers, Peter Morrissey SC, says.
In 2003, when two of the Bali bombers were sentenced to death, both the government and the opposition of the time in Australia supported it.
Our credibility was a little tarnished there … We were rather applauding the death penalty when it came to the Bali bombers. That fact caused a lot of resentment. We need to be very consistent about it [and] that may have affected our credibility within Indonesia on this occasion,” Morrisey said, speaking on ABC radio this morning.
Morrissey said that Australia took the “very moral high ground” but our foreign policy on capital punishment was resented in Indonesia.
Updated
We have footage of the Australian prime minister, Tony Abbott, and the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, speaking after the execution of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Abbott announced the withdrawal of Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia and said the relationship “simply cannot be business as usual”.
My colleague Daniel Hurst has filed a full report on the Australian government’s response.
Updated
Australia’s Human Rights Commission was pleading for clemency for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran right up until yesterday. The president of the commission, Gillian Triggs, has now spoken on the executions:
Today is a sad day for #humanrights. May the tragic executions of Andrew & Myuran stimulate an end to the death penalty throughout Asia
— Gillian Triggs (@GillianTriggs) April 29, 2015
My thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew and Myuran’s family and friends #IStandForMercy #EndTheDeathPenalty
— Gillian Triggs (@GillianTriggs) April 29, 2015
Hopes Mary Jane Veloso's sentence will be cancelled, not just postponed
The lawyer for Filipina Mary Jane Veloso has described the moment her family found out she had been granted a stay on her execution, just hours before she was due to be killed, Dina Indrasafitri reports.
Edre Olalia, from the National Union for People’s Lawyers, said that he found out through bits and pieces of information, before then reading about it in a television station’s running text.
It was a very heart-wrenching moment, when [Veloso’s family] left the hotel and they had to leave towards Jakarta and just wait for the body of their mother, their daughter and their sister. Then everything turned around.
He said that upon hearing the news, Veloso’s family was so happy that they jumped up and down in the car they were riding in, and the car had to be stopped “before they get an accident”.
It’s not over till it’s over and that has been validated by what happened tonight.
Olalia said that Veloso is a crucial witness in human trafficking cases, “as she learned about the modus operandi, she met the people that set her up”.
He said one of the expected consequences of a proven case of human trafficking in which Veloso is the victim is the cancellation of her sentence altogether, not just a postponement.
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The Australian senator Jacqui Lambie is continuing her calls for aid to Indonesia to be cut after the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Now she is demanding $50m be redirected to Nepan from Australia’s foreign aid for Indonesia. Lambie also wants Australians to boycott Indonesia, specifically Bali, as a holiday destination.
What is happening in Indonesia right now is disgusting. Indonesia’s president is playing at the art of war. He is toying with those boys and using them as a political pawn.
The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, said this morning that the aid budget was under a different set of considerations.
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Mary Jane Veloso’s husband, Michael, has publicly thanked the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, for granting her a reprieve from execution in the hours before she was due to be killed.
Veloso was granted the reprieve after her native Philippines appealed for her to be a witness in the trial against the woman who allegedly trafficked her.
Veloso’s husband thanked the Indonesian president for granting the stay of execution in an interview on Philippine radio station dzBB.
Velosa’s mother, Celia, also spoke.
Talagang may himala po palang dumating sa anak ko.
Which roughly translates as:
A miracle really came to my daughter.
A Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman, Charles Jose, also commented briefly.
We are relieved that the execution of Mary Jane Veloso was not carried out tonight. The Lord has answered our prayers.
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A vigil organised by the Mercy Campaign was held in Sydney last night. This is a very moving video from it, only a minute long but still quite tough to watch. It shows Myuran Sukumaran’s cousin speaking about the reformed men.
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Locals near where the eight foreigners were executed in Indonesia generally supported the stance of the president, Joko Widodo, Dina Indrasafitri reports from Cilacap.
Indrasafitri – who has been in Cilacap, which is just across from the island where the executions took place – said there were hundreds of journalists as well as dozens, possibly hundreds of locals, creating an “intense” atmosphere. She said the locals were mostly there out of curiosity, not to protest or make any political statements.
I’ve had conversations with the locals since I came here and most of them are saying, ‘Well, I do feel sorry for them, we’re all human beings, but what can you do? You made a mistake, you violated the law, you have to deal with the punishment.’
There’s a justification going on, [people are saying] ‘The drugs are really bad and I’ve seen victims of drugs, they can end up in really bad situation.’ One of them was saying she agreed with Joko and saw on TV Joko was saying how bad the drug problem was. The sort of sentiment I’ve been getting, most of them are saying, ‘We’ve been seeing this on television and we want to see it for ourselves.’
The Indonesian attorney-general is due to address media in about an hour and Indrasafitri says the expectation is he will talk mostly about Mary Jane Veloso who was granted a last-minute reprieve.
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'They asked for mercy, but there was none'
The families of Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan have released a statement about the executions.
In full:
Today we lost Myuran and Andrew. Our sons, our brothers. In the 10 years since they were arrested they did all the could to make amends, helping many others. They asked for mercy, but there was none.
They were immensely grateful for all the support they received. We too, will be forever grateful.
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You can read profiles of the eight people executed in Indonesia here. Filipina Mary Jane Veloso and Frenchman Serge Atlaoui were given temporary reprieves.
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The bodies of the foreigners executed in Indonesia, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, have arrived via ambulance on the mainland of Indonesia. It will be another 10 hours or so before they reach Jakarta. The Guardian’s Dina Indrasafitri reports there were about five ambulances.
Grim...ambulances with coffins Andrew Chan and Muyuran Sukumaran have arrived at the mainland pic.twitter.com/rHr0M6osJe
— step vaessen (@stepvaessen) April 28, 2015
Australia is yet to be formally notified of the executions but the foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, says we can assume it has happened. Bishop says the bodies of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be brought to Australia for burial.
I was in contact with the families overnight. They are in a devastating position and I understand that they will put out a statement later this morning. Our concern centres on the fact that the apparent rehabilitation of Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran was not taken into account.
I expect to be able to discuss further aspects of our relationship with Indonesia when our ambassador, Paul Grigson, returns to Australia at the end of this week.
Asked if the withdrawal of Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia for consultations will be the only consequence of the executions, the prime minister, Tony Abbott, says ministerial contacts will also remain suspended.
Well it is very unusual, indeed unprecedented, for an ambassador to be withdrawn so I don’t want to minimise the gravity of what we’ve done. Ministerial contacts have been suspended for some time once it became apparent that the executions were likely, ministerial contacts were suspended and they will remain suspended for a period. Apart from that, I don’t want to personalise this because it’s important that the relationship between the Australian government and the Indonesian government continue.
The so-called Bali Nine were arrested trying to leave Indonesia with heroin strapped to their bodies. Indonesian authorities were alerted to it after a tip-off from the Australian federal police, which has raised questions about why the AFP did not arrest the nine when they arrived in Australia.
Asked about the role of the AFP, Bishop says now is not the time for recriminations.
The involvement of the Australian federal police was reviewed a number of years ago and changes were made. We are satisfied that the changes that are in place were appropriate but I don’t believe today is the time to look for recriminations. Now is a time to be thinking of the Chan and Sukumaran families to spare a thought for what they are going through today and to provide them with all the support and assistance that we can. It’s an appalling situation for them.
Asked if Australia’s aid to Indonesia will be affected, Bishop says it is under a different set of considerations. Abbott has also issued a warning for people to be careful about how they convey their dismay at Indonesia:
First of all I absolutely understand people’s anger. I absolutely understand people’s anger. Yes, the drug trade is evil and these two committed a serious crime. But particularly given the last 10 years and the very thorough rehabilitation and reform that these two demonstrated, it is, as I said, cruel and unnecessary what has taken place. So I absolutely understand people’s anger. On the other hand, we do not want to make a difficult situation worse and the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is important, remains important, will always be important, will become more important as time goes by. So I would say to people yes, you are absolutely entitled to be angry but we’ve got to be very careful to ensure that we do not allow our anger to make a bad situation worse.
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Australia to withdraw Indonesian ambassador for 'consultations'
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has announced Australia will withdraw the Australian ambassador to Indonesia as result of the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Speaking in Canberra he said:
Australia respects the Indonesian system. We respect Indonesia’s sovereignty but we do deplore what’s been done and this cannot be simply business as usual.
I want to stress that this is a very important relationship between Australia and Indonesia but it has suffered as a result of what’s been done over the last few hours. Whatever people think of the death penalty, whatever people think of drug crime, the fact is that these two families have suffered an appalling tragedy and I’m sure that every Australian’s thoughts and prayers will be with those families at this time.
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Julie Bishop foreshadowed “consequences” ahead of the execution of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, my colleague Daniel Hurst reports in a piece about the political reaction in Australia you can read here. He reports:
Australia must respond strongly to Indonesia’s execution of two citizens, the Labor opposition said, as MPs from all sides of politics expressed their anger at the “cruel and devastating loss”.
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, was due to address the media on Wednesday morning but said on the eve of the execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan that “of course there will be have to be consequences”.
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Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, will address media at 7.30am to speak about Australia’s response to the executions. Here are summaries from Indonesia, Australia and around the world in the hours since the death, filed by AAP.
I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system. I miss you already RIP my Little Brother.
Michael Chan, the brother of executed Australian Andrew Chan.
I am sorry. I failed. I lost.
Chan and Myuran Sukumaran’s Indonesian lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis.
We stand in solidarity with the families of all those who were brutally executed in this senseless, tragic and wasteful act of state-sanctioned murder.
The Amnesty campaigner and human rights lawyer, Diana Sayed, said:
It’s awful, I know, but the two boys died well. They made their preparations, they were dignified. They’re strong against the death penalty, they were supportive of their families.
Chan and Sukumaran’s lawyer, Peter Morrissey:
Lives lost. Nothing gained.
The opposition frontbencher Tony Burke:
Those set to be executed are living proof of capacity to reform and rehabilitate offenders into productive members of society.
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Journalists are reporting that Mary Jane Veloso, who was granted a reprieve from the execution squad, is on her way back to Wirogunan prison.
Her lawyer has tweeted about her last-minute reprieve, to testify in a trial against an alleged drug smuggler and people trafficker.
Edre Olalia says they are organising for her to see her two young sons.
Never really over till it's over. What a rollercoaster ride that saps emotions &!tests grit.
— Edre Olalia (@EdreOlalia) April 28, 2015
See you soon Mary Jane! We're bringing back your little boys to you!
— Edre Olalia (@EdreOlalia) April 28, 2015
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We are hearing that Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, will address the media about the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in the next couple of hours.
The Greens leader, Christine Milne, has issued a statement calling the execution a “tragedy” and saying Chan and Sukumaran will be remembered for overcoming their past to live meaningful lives.
Capital punishment must be abolished wherever in the world it is still carried out. We in Australia must continue to advocate for an end to capital punishment and promote human rights around the world, especially in our region. The lives of these two Australians have been ended by firing squad at the direction of the Indonesian government. I condemn this act in the strongest possible terms.
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, and the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, issued a statement saying their “worst fears” have been realised.
Indonesia has not just robbed two young men of their lives but robbed itself of two examples of the strengths of its justice system. These executions significantly weaken Indonesia’s ability to plead mercy for its own citizens facing execution around the world. As a close friend and neighbour of Indonesia, Australia is deeply hurt that our pleas for mercy were ignored.
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Here’s a quick glance at the front pages of newspapers coming out in the hours after the deaths of the eight people executed in Indonesia.
In Brisbane, Australia, the Courier-Mail held its presses to put out a 4am edition after the men had been killed.
Today's editorial - Indonesia’s antics served only to insult and offend: http://t.co/x46XI0eUef #Bali9 pic.twitter.com/qlaMNemceS
— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) April 28, 2015
The Jakarta Globe, an English language newspaper in Indonesia, plays a straighter bat:
Front Page, April 29: Eight drug convicts executed despite concerted clemency calls from foreign leaders pic.twitter.com/4tVeKnOnRK
— The Jakarta Globe (@thejakartaglobe) April 28, 2015
And here is the Sydney Morning Herald, which would have gone to print before the executions were carried out:
First edition of today's paper, p1. pic.twitter.com/LqFF1SAa3E
— Ben Cubby (@bencubby) April 28, 2015
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The eight prisoners who were executed in Indonesia a few hours ago were initially denied a visit from a spiritual adviser from their religion. This decision was reversed and ABC is reporting the prisoners, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were allowed their last rites.
An ABC correspondent, Greg Jennett, who is in Indonesia, reports:
They would have said a farewell after being blessed and given the last rites at one point.
Jennett says the families of both men will return to Jakarta and the bodies of the two men will be signed over to the Australian consulate general.
I expect and we have had indications that they won’t say any more. They’re going to leave Cilacap, they’re going to try to be as obscure as they can to make their way home, to go back home for funeral services. The bodies will go quite quickly, so that puts some urgency in the travels of the families as well. Now, there has been a kind of media strategy on the part of the Chan and Sukumaran families to display their final grief or at least be open to the media. However, I think things change substantially this morning and there’s no longer any reason, no purpose to lobbying any further. So I think for that reason they will largely disappear from public view until the funeral services in Australia.
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Australian political leaders have been tweeting as they wake up to the news that Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have been executed:
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten:
Our worst fears have been realised. Labor condemns the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, in the strongest possible terms.
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) April 28, 2015
Liberal federal MP Fiona Scott:
The death penalty is barbaric and inhumane torture. Murder is murder.
— Fiona Scott (@FionaScottMP) April 28, 2015
New South Wales premier Mike Baird:
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Andrew and Myuran. This is a cruel and devastating loss.
— Mike Baird (@mikebairdMP) April 28, 2015
And the former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark:
For the record, for me the death penalty is an ethical issue. I cannot accept that it is justified in any country for any offence.
— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkUNDP) April 28, 2015
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Hello, it is almost three hours since Indonesia executed eight foreign prisoners who were all convicted on drug charges. Mary Jane Veloso, from the Philippines, was given a last-minute reprieve to ensure she can testify at the trial of an alleged drug smuggler and people trafficker.
Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were in the group executed about 12.30am local time on the prison island of Nusa Kambangan, off the coast of Java. Australia is just waking to the news.
The other men were Rodrigo Gularte, Raheem Agbaje Salami (also known as Jamiu Owolabi Abashin), Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Martin Anderson, Zainal Abidin and Okwuduli Oyatanze.
The eight men were tied to wooden stakes and shot by 12 marksmen, three of which had live rounds. You can read the full report by my colleague Michael Safi here.
Stay with us as we bring you the reactions from Australia and around the world.
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