France vows efforts to save national on death row in Indonesia
French President Francois Hollande says Paris will do its utmost to save a French national who has received a death penalty over drug offences in Indonesia.
“France, without going into the legal debate, is doing everything to keep Serge Atlaoui alive,” Hollande told reporters following a European summit in the EU’s de facto capital of Brussels late Monday.
He added, “It will be up to the lawyers to decide what other avenues to pursue.”
Meanwhile, France’s European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir also vowed to mobilize “the whole of the French diplomatic service” in an attempt to have Atlaoui’s death sentence annulled.
Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, also reiterated support for the drug offender, saying he plans to talk to Atlaoui’s wife regarding the convict’s situation very soon.
Earlier, the State Administrative Court in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta upheld its previous verdict regarding Atlaoui’s charges, saying the court is in no position to reconsider the convict’s clemency plea, which had already been dismissed by the country’s President Joko Widodo.
Atlaoui’s death sentence was to be implemented two months ago, but it was suspended upon pressure from officials in Paris, who have warned Jakarta of unspecified consequences if the convict is executed.
Indonesian police detained Atlaoui in a secret drug factory outside the capital in 2015. Jakarta said he worked as a chemist at the site.
The French national rejects the allegation, saying he had no knowledge of the factory’s illegal activities, and was just installing machinery at the site when he was arrested.
Back in April, two Australians, a Brazilian, four Nigerians and an Indonesian were executed in the Asian country for drug offences.
Despite international pressure, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has stressed that Jakarta will continue to severely punish drug traffickers, saying the country is currently grappling with a serious crisis over the increasing drug use.
FNR/MKA/HJL
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