Convicted Australian drug smuggler Andrew Chan, 31, a member of the Bali Nine, has just now has his appeal for clemency rejected by Indonesian president Joko Widodo.
Per a breaking report in The Guardian, a Denpasar district court spokesman confirmed that Chan’s bid was rejected in keeping with Widodo’s hard line stance on refusing clemency for drug-related offences. DFAT have since confirmed the news.
Last month, Chan’s co-conspirator in the importation of 8kg heroin to Australia in 2005, Myuran Sukumaran, had his bid for a presidential pardon denied and, last Sunday, six people – including five foreigners – were executed by firing squad under Indonesian drug laws.
Earlier this week, Prime Minster Tony Abbott issued a public plea for mercy on the Australian Radio Network, saying:
“I hope that the evidence of genuine remorse, of genuine rehabilitation means that even at this late stage pleas for clemency might be accepted, because in the end mercy has to be a part of every justice system including the Indonesian one.”
The ABC add that Chan has now exhausted all legal appeals and that Indonesia’s attorney-general HM Prasetyo believes because Sukamaran and Chan committed the crime together, they will also be executed together.
Earlier today, Fairfax [via Nine News] reported that Chan has written a letter to his teenage self that will appear in a documentary commissioned by the NSW Police Force called Dear Me: The Dangers of Drugs, excerpts from which read as follows:
“You are still young and you have some serious decisions to make in your life. What you choose today will make what you become tomorrow (and) if you want to be a thug and a big bad wolf, I’ll see you soon inside.But for those that want to do something in life, I’d like you guys to see how important it is to put your head down and study hard.At the end of the day, I’m only 29-years-old and, the truth is, I might not be able to see my 30th birthday.How many of you want to follow in my footsteps? And I hope these words will penetrate through your minds and in your hearts, and that most of you, if not all of you, will achieve more than I ever did.”
via The Guardian
Photo: Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP/Getty Images
