Bali Nine: Julie Bishop again puts case for clemency to Indonesian counterpart
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Version 0 of 1. The Australian foreign affairs minister has spoken to her Indonesian counterpart for the first time since Bali Nine pair, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were given their 72-hour notice of execution. Julie Bishop, who was returning to Australia from Brussels, spoke to Retno Marsudi on Sunday and stressed the need for all legal processes to be determined before any action is taken, a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia. Tony Abbott added his own last-minute plea. “This is not in the best interests of Indonesia, let alone the best interests of the young Australians concerned,” he told reporters in France. The Australian drug smugglers’ lawyers have lodged a challenge with the constitutional court but the attorney general does not acknowledge it, and says the pair have exhausted their appeals. The pair were given their notice of execution on Saturday, prompting Bishop to release a statement saying it was not too late for clemency to be granted. “Legal challenges remain before the constitutional court and judicial commission, which raise fundamental questions about the integrity of their sentencing and the clemency process. These claims should be heard,” she said. “I again respectfully call on the president of Indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency.” Brothers of the pair issued a public plea for mercy to the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, on Sunday in a joint appearance before the media. Chan’s brother Michael said he would likely want to spend his last day alive at church with his family. “The two boys are still holding up pretty well, considering they feel that it is injust, what has happened over the last 10 years with their whole case, and that somewhere in the legal system, there’s got to be mercy, and the president needs to show that now and he’s the only one that can stop it,” he said. “So I please ask president, please show mercy.” Sukumaran’s brother said a “grave injustice” was about to be done. “We ask the president, please, please show mercy. There are nine people [facing execution] with families that love them, mothers, fathers, son, daughters, brothers and sisters and we please ask the president to use his powers and intervene and save their lives,” he said. The scheduled timing of the execution has been reported by various journalists based in Indonesia as Tuesday night. Abbott, who was in Europe marking Anzac Day commemorations, referred inquiries to Bishop when asked if he had been formally told of an execution date. Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, said that while the pair was still alive there was still hope. “No one is asking that they be released, no one is asking that their sentences be revoked. Simply that they be allowed to continue to live. While they live they can repay their debt to society,” she said on Sunday morning. “There are, of course, continuing legal efforts on behalf of these men and we hope that the government of Indonesia sees its way clear to allowing those legal processes to be complete. “It is particularly concerning to think that these young men might be executed without the legal processes being fully and completely allowed to run their course.” Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 34, who were sentenced to death after being found guilty of smuggling heroin in 2005, are one of a group of 10 who were to be executed together. However, it has been reported that Frenchman Serge Atlaoui has been granted a reprieve. A Filipina, Mary Jane Veloso, a 31-year-old single mother, also received a notice of execution on Saturday but refused to sign it. Her lawyers filed a second motion for a judicial review on Friday, 10 minutes before the final deadline. The leader of Australia’s Palmer United party, Clive Palmer, called for a boycott of Bali after the execution notices. “Indonesian Govt no respect for Oz. Why’s Indonesian Govt denying #Bali9 natural justice & not considering appeals to President?” he tweeted. |