Bali Nine Latest News: 2 Australians Scheduled for Execution in Indonesia, Prison Transfer In Preparation

By Dondi Tiples, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Two Australian men, members of the infamous Bali Nine, have been transferred to a prison in Indonesia, pending their execution.

Australians Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumuran, 33, ringleaders of the notorious Bali Nine, who were convicted for smuggling heroin in the Indonesian island province in 2005, have been transported to Nusa Kambangan prison off Indonesia's main island of Java to face execution by firing squad.

Despite pleas for amnesty from the Australian government and the international community, the convicted drug smugglers, together with five other drug traffickers from Brazil, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the Philippines are due to face a firing squad. Tony Spontana, the Attorney General Office's spokesman, gave no exact date for the execution.

In line with Indonesia's stringent laws against drugs – the toughest in the world -- the country's president, Joko Widodo, has rejected all appeals for clemency from the Australian government. Seven other members of the Bali Nine have been meted sentences of between 20 years to life in prison.

Chan and Sukumuran were arrested 10 years ago attempting to smuggle more than 8.3 kilograms (18lbs) of heroin from Bali to Australia, and while capital punishment has long been abolished in their mother country, Indonesia's president has vowed to show no mercy to drug offenders in light of the southeast Asian country's current "drug emergency."

The United Nations has expressed its concern over reports that Chan and Sukumuran's trials did not satisfy international standards of fairness. Despite calling for a halt on further executions, their pleas to Indonesian officials fell on deaf ears.

In Jan. 18, six drug convicts from Brazil, Malawi, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and Vietnam were put to death via firing squad, despite last-minute appeals from their country's leaders. Currently, there are 133 people in Indonesia's death row, 57 of whom have been convicted of drug crimes.