Following on from yesterday’s eleventh hour proposal to instigate a “prisoner swap” for death row prisoners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the Department of Foreign Affairs has announced they will lodge an official complaint to Indonesia regarding a controversial ‘happy snap’ of the Bali Nine pair that made the rounds yesterday afternoon.
The image depicts a smiling Denpasar police chief commissioner Djoko Hari Utomo with Andrew Chan on a plane bound for execution island, where the Bali Nine pair are likely to face a firing squad in the coming weeks. The act of capital punishment is sickening enough, let alone adding this:
Outrage over Indonesian police chief’s ‘happy snap’ with Bali Nine duo http://t.co/yNeMogs7r1 pic.twitter.com/xi5qqZpLEo
— SBS News (@SBSNews) March 5, 2015
Following outrage on social media once the photo emerged, Djoko Hari Utomo has spoken out about the so-called ‘happy snap’, defending the incident to The Sydney Morning Herald as, “not a selfie moment,” and added that it was purely documenting his support for the two men, by encouraging Chan and Sukumaran to “Be tough, be strong, and keep going.”
The ‘prisoner swap’ proposal that Julie Bishop announced yesterday has been staunchly rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, as he reportedly responded to the proposal by saying, “No way” and maintained his fierce opposition to drug supply and use in Indonesia: “Look at how many die, our young generation. We have to look at the future.”
The execution date for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran is yet to be announced. The pair will be given 72 hours notice once a date has been officially set, before they face a firing squad.
Via SBS.
Lead image by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty Images
