Indonesia rejects Australian offer of swapping prisoners to stop executions

Indonesian officials said Thursday they will reject an Australian offer to swap prisoners as part of a last-ditch attempt to save the lives of two Australian drug smugglers expected to face a firing squad within days. Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said prisoner swaps might be possible for other crimes in the future, but not for people sentenced to death under Indonesia’s tough anti-drug laws. ”When it comes to this crime, we will say no,” he told reporters after meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

We are seeking opportunities to explore every option that might be available to us, every avenue that might be available to save the lives of these two men.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said earlier Thursday that she made the proposal to her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, who had agreed to convey it to Widodo. Bishop said she had yet to hear back. Bishop has offered to repatriate three convicted Indonesian drug criminals in return for the lives of the Australians, Andrew Chan, 31, and Myuran Sukumaran, 33, The Australian newspaper reported Thursday. The proposal was made in a phone call Tuesday night after Indonesia announced the men would be transferred Wednesday from their prison home of a decade on the resort island of Bali to their place of execution on a maximum-security prison island, the newspaper said.

Asia-Pacific