#iStandForMercy: Sydney Rallies to Save Two Australians Facing Execution

MOSCOW, January 29 (Sputnik) – A vigil for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, two young Australian, who face execution in Indonesia, is currently underway at Martin Place in Sydney.

The event, dubbed Music for Mercy, was organized by award-winning Australian artist Ben Quilty, singer-songwriter Megan Washington and the Mercy Campaign. The Tasmanian Times reported Quilty as saying that there is still hope for the two young men. "There will be justice and mercy for them both," he said.

It has garnered a lot of attention on social media, with people using hashtag #iStandForMercy to support Chan and Sukumaran, who were arrested in 2005 and later convicted of drug trafficking.

In December, Indonesian authorities announced that many prisoners facing death sentence for drug offences would be executed. In January, Chan's application for mercy was rejected.

In an open letter, to Indonesia's President Joko Widodo, the Mercy Campaign said that Chan and Sukumaran expressed remorse and sorrow for their drug crimes, turned their life around and helped other prisoners to do the same.

"The positive stories of their rehabilitation are known in Indonesia and around the world. They are a true credit to the Indonesian Penal system, which has enabled their rehabilitation," the activists said.

The Mercy campaign asked to reduce their penalty from execution to serving a jail sentence. "They deserve to be in jail, but not to be killed," the activists said.