Two Australian drug smugglers sentenced to death
cannot challenge the president's decision to refuse them clemency, an
Indonesian court has ruled.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were the leaders of the "Bali
Nine" group of heroin smugglers arrested in 2005.
They are scheduled to be executed by firing squad in Indonesia soon.
Australia has campaigned hard for their sentences to be commuted and their
supporters say they have reformed.
Both men were appealing against an earlier ruling which had barred them
from challenging Indonesian President Joko Widodo's rejection of their clemency
pleas.
Their lawyers had argued that Mr Widodo - whose stated policy is to deny
clemency to drug offenders - had not given adequate consideration to the men's
cases.
But the State Administrative Court in Jakarta upheld the earlier decision,
saying it had no authority to take the case.
It is not clear where the legal proceedings go now. A spokesman for
Indonesia's attorney-general, quoted by Reuters news agency, said the men had
exhausted all possible options.
But a lawyer for Chan and Sukumaran told journalists: "We will
continue our legal efforts".
The men have been transferred to
Indonesia's Nusa Kambangan prison to await their executions
Analysis:
Karishma Vaswani, BBC Indonesia editor
The rejection of the appeal was widely expected. Chan and Sukumaran's
challenge to Mr Widodo's decision to ban all clemencies was unprecedented both
in its audacity and in its legal scope. An Indonesian court had already ruled
that it didn't have the authority to make a decision on a presidential ban.
The legal options that the men now have available to them are limited.
Their lawyers can appeal against this decision but they are likely to be
unsuccessful as they have been in all of their previous attempts. Analysts say
once a death row convict's clemency has been rejected by the president, it is
next to impossible to reverse that decision.
Chan and Sukumaran's lawyers would know this, but appear to be doing all
they can to extend the legal process. Diplomatic efforts to save the two men
have so far backfired, and ties between Indonesia and Australia have frayed.
Six
former Australian prime ministers issued a call for mercy in February
Reformed
characters
Mr Widodo, who took office last year, has been taking a tough stance on
drug crime.
In January he authorised the executions of six people, including five
foreigners, convicted of drug offences.
The two Australians are in a second group, of 10 foreign nationals, to be
put to death. But no date has been set for the executions.
Indonesian authorities say they are waiting for all legal avenues be
exhausted in all of the convicts' cases before the group are executed.
Chan and Sukumaran were arrested in Bali in 2005 while attempting to
smuggle heroin to Australia.
A court ruled that they had organised a nine-member smuggling operation and
they were sentenced to death in 2006.
But their families have argued that they are now reformed characters and
should be shown mercy.
Australia has also mounted a passionate diplomatic campaign on their
behalf.
The current government has made repeated appeals for the sentences not to
be carried out and in February six of Australia's former prime ministers made a
united plea for Indonesia to spare their lives.
In a statement, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the
government was disappointed by the decision.
"Both men have undergone extensive rehabilitation and I will continue
to make representations to my counterpart, just as Australia will continue to
use all diplomatic options to seek a stay of execution."
Indonesia has also faced
criticism from other countries whose nationals are facing execution. The group
of 10 includes people from Brazil, France, Nigeria and the
Philippines among others.
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