Indonesia’s plans to press ahead with the execution of foreign drug traffickers has weakened the hopes for survival of British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford, a cocaine smuggler who is among just 30-odd foreign traffickers left on death row.
Sandiford, from Redcar in Teesside, was jailed in Bali in 2012 for
smuggling cocaine worth an estimated £1.6 million from Thailand. She is
trying to raise funds to mount an appeal against her sentence in
Indonesia’s Supreme Court.
But her
outlook has worsened following the election last year of president Joko
Widodo, who has pledged to carry out all executions of traffickers as
part of a toughened anti-drugs policy.
The execution of eight prisoners
– including seven foreigners - by firing squad on Tuesday followed the
killing of an initial batch of six prisoners earlier this year. This
year has already had the greatest number of executions in a single year,
but no date has yet been set for the next round of executions.
There are believed to be about 34 foreign traffickers left on death row, including Sandiford.
In a statement issued from jail in Bali, Sandiford, 58, said she was “deeply saddened” by the senseless executions of a pair of Australian drug smugglers and paid tribute to them for giving her guidance after she was sentenced to death.
“I am deeply saddened to learn that Myuran Sukumaran and my dear friend Andrew Chan have been executed… The men shot dead today were reformed men – good men who transformed the lives of people around them. Their senseless, brutal deaths leave the world a poorer place.”
The two Australians, London-born Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, were executed after overseeing a heroin smuggling ring in 2005.
In her statement, Sandiford said Chan, who become a devout Christian in jail, was a “close friend and confidante”.
“He counselled and helped me through exceptionally difficult times after I was sentenced to death in 2013,” she said.
“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.
“They organised painting classes, cookery classes and computer
classes, and gave practical help to make sure the poorest prisoners had
food, clothing and essentials. Whoever they were and wherever they were
from, they made sure inmates who were sick got access to health care and
hospital services which are not covered by the prison budget.
Sandiford has reportedly started to give up hope and said “I just want to get it over with”, according to an unnamed friend quoted by The Daily Mail. Her lawyers said earlier this month she plans to appeal to the Supreme Court for a full retrial.
Tim Lindsey, an expert on Indonesian law at Melbourne University, told The Telegraph that the method in which Indonesia selected its batch of prisoners to be executed was a “mystery”.
He said the intense international and diplomatic response over the latest executions may cause Jakarta to reconsider its approach.
“I think Indonesia did not anticipate the huge storm of criticism,” he said.
“The storm may well mean that they may go more slowly. I don’t think they will necessarily continue with the aggressive policy. They may quietly back off.”
Professor Lindsey said it was possible for prisoners such as Sandiford to have death sentences reduced on appeal, but the process – and particularly the granting of presidential clemency – were difficult to predict.
“Sentences have been reduced on appeal. It does happen. Clemency is a political decision – the president can do whatever he likes. It is a political lottery.”
France said on Wednesday it was mobilising all diplomatic options in a bid to prevent the execution of Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who is also on death row in Indonesia on drug charges.
"Full diplomatic efforts continue on this issue," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told a cabinet meeting, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.
There are believed to be about 34 foreign traffickers left on death row, including Sandiford.
In a statement issued from jail in Bali, Sandiford, 58, said she was “deeply saddened” by the senseless executions of a pair of Australian drug smugglers and paid tribute to them for giving her guidance after she was sentenced to death.
“I am deeply saddened to learn that Myuran Sukumaran and my dear friend Andrew Chan have been executed… The men shot dead today were reformed men – good men who transformed the lives of people around them. Their senseless, brutal deaths leave the world a poorer place.”
The two Australians, London-born Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, were executed after overseeing a heroin smuggling ring in 2005.
In her statement, Sandiford said Chan, who become a devout Christian in jail, was a “close friend and confidante”.
“He counselled and helped me through exceptionally difficult times after I was sentenced to death in 2013,” she said.
“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.
“They organised painting classes, cookery classes and computer
classes, and gave practical help to make sure the poorest prisoners had
food, clothing and essentials. Whoever they were and wherever they were
from, they made sure inmates who were sick got access to health care and
hospital services which are not covered by the prison budget. Sandiford has reportedly started to give up hope and said “I just want to get it over with”, according to an unnamed friend quoted by The Daily Mail. Her lawyers said earlier this month she plans to appeal to the Supreme Court for a full retrial.
Tim Lindsey, an expert on Indonesian law at Melbourne University, told The Telegraph that the method in which Indonesia selected its batch of prisoners to be executed was a “mystery”.
He said the intense international and diplomatic response over the latest executions may cause Jakarta to reconsider its approach.
“I think Indonesia did not anticipate the huge storm of criticism,” he said.
“The storm may well mean that they may go more slowly. I don’t think they will necessarily continue with the aggressive policy. They may quietly back off.”
Professor Lindsey said it was possible for prisoners such as Sandiford to have death sentences reduced on appeal, but the process – and particularly the granting of presidential clemency – were difficult to predict.
“Sentences have been reduced on appeal. It does happen. Clemency is a political decision – the president can do whatever he likes. It is a political lottery.”
France said on Wednesday it was mobilising all diplomatic options in a bid to prevent the execution of Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, who is also on death row in Indonesia on drug charges.
"Full diplomatic efforts continue on this issue," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told a cabinet meeting, according to government spokesman Stephane Le Foll.
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