- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Indonesia Rejects Prisoner-Swap for Australians on Death Row

© AP Photo / Achmad IbrahimOne of Indonesian police armored vehicles carrying two Australian prisoners arrives at Wijaya Pura port in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 4, 2015
One of Indonesian police armored vehicles carrying two Australian prisoners arrives at Wijaya Pura port in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Indonesia's Foreign Ministry confirmed that Indonesia did not accept Australia's offer to swap two Australians on death row in return for the repatriation of three convicted Indonesians.

Guitarist Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath - Sputnik International
Black Sabbath Guitarist Asks Indonesian President to Stop Execution
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Indonesia has rejected Australia's offer to swap two Australians on death row in return for the repatriation of three convicted Indonesians, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.

Indonesia did not accept the offer as the country has no law to provide for such an exchange, Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir explained, as cited by the BBC.

Earlier on Thursday, Indonesia's Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo referred to the prisoner swap deal as "unthinkable," according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Prasetyo also called for other countries to respect the Indonesian legal system.

Convicted Australian drug smugglers Myuran Sukumaran (L) and Andrew Chan sit inside Kerobokan prison in Denpasar, Bali. (File) - Sputnik International
Asia
#iStandForMercy: Sydney Rallies to Save Two Australians Facing Execution
The swap offer was among options explored by Australian authorities to save the two Australian nationals, convicted of drug smuggling, from their impending execution, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop confirmed earlier.

On Wednesday, the two Australian prisoners, Myuran Sukumaran, 33, and Andrew Chan, 31, were transferred from a Bali prison to an Indonesian island where they are due to face a firing squad within days.

The planned executions of the Australians have strained diplomatic ties between Australia, which does not have the death penalty, and Indonesia. Last month Indonesia said it would proceed with the executions despite Australia's pleas.

Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, two members of the so-called Bali Nine, were convicted in 2005 for attempting to smuggle 8.3kg (18lbs) of heroin. The remaining seven members of the squad, all Australians, have received prison sentences of varying lengths in Indonesia.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала