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Home / World

'We all want to leave him happy': Bali Nine families say goodbye

Daily Mail
15 Feb, 2015 09:25 PM6 mins to read

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Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, on death row. Photos / AP

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, on death row. Photos / AP

Bali Nine ringleader Andrew Chan's parents have said their goodbyes and flown back to Sydney ahead of his planned execution.

Australian embassy officials will attend a Jakarta meeting on Monday where Indonesia will convey the formalities in its plan to execute Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry has invited all embassies with citizens to be executed to the meeting, which could mean the executions will take place this week.

When Indonesia executed one Indonesian and five foreign nationals last month, the meeting with embassies, the announcement of the 72-hours notice and the executions all happened within the week.

The meeting won't provide the date but it will discuss the provision of 72 hours' notice, access to prisoners for family, and the conduct of foreign media coverage, a ministry spokesman says.

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This comes after Chan's parents Ken and Helen Chan left Bali on Sunday night (local time) in the knowledge that they're unlikely ever to see their son again.

The couple, looking drawn and exhausted, boarded a flight to Sydney knowing only a miracle would now save him from execution.

Earlier on Sunday the whole family spent time together inside Kerobokan prison for what was likely to be the last time.

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It was only the second time in the past decade that the Chan parents have sat down together with all their children - Andrew, brother Michael, two sisters and their spouses, the Courier Mail reported.

Michael said both his parents were leaving Bali "with a heavy heart" and that he could see the pain in their eyes as they left.

He said that at least his mother was comforted by the fact that on Friday and Sunday the entire Chan family had been together and shared lunch in the jail.

"It was the first time we have actually sat down and had lunch with the whole family in nine years. (On Friday) I think it was Macca's but it was still lunch. That was a defining moment for them," Michael said.

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In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Michael revealed that despite the pain and agony his family were experiencing, moments of joy also shone through.

"We all want to leave him happy. He's been able to see his nephew, Kai," Michael said.

"He's six months old and he's rapt about seeing him.

"Basically, it's the first time we got together as an extended family in nine years. It's been our first lunch together."

One of the Chan family's most cherished memories will be how several prisoners wrote to Indonesian president Joko Widodo offering to die in Chan's place.

"It has just been phenomenal," said Michael. "I know Andrew reflects on that and thinks it is a big thing.

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"There are other people on death row, there are big issues in the world. But to know its on the forefront of everyone's mind at the moment - it makes them think 'wow'."

However, there's still hope of a late reprieve after it was alleged by the men's lawyers on Sunday night that the Indonesian judges who sentenced Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to death offered leniency in exchange for money.

But the pair's lawyers will seek a meeting with Indonesia's Attorney-General HM Prasetyo on Monday to ask for the executions to be delayed, pending further legal challenges.

Their legal team has made a complaint with the Indonesian Judicial Commission, based on public comments by Chan and Sukumaran's former lawyer, Muhammad Rifan.

They have also challenged of the presidential decrees denying the men clemency without examining their cases or giving reasons.

Mr Rifan last week alleged there had been "interference" in the case that saw the Australians sentenced to death when they should have been jailed for life.

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Their complaint claims the judges in the original trial offered a more lenient sentence in exchange for cash.

Mr Prasetyo says this round of executions takes more planning, because prisoners have to be transferred from various jails to the execution location, Nusakambangan island, off Central Java.

Authorities have permission to move Chan and Sukumaran from Bali's Kerobokan jail, and would like to do it "as soon as possible".

Kerobokan prison governor Sudjonggo told reporters he is ready for the transfer "any time, any day".

He said Chan and Sukumaran - who are considered leaders in the prison for their tireless work to help the rehabilitation and welfare of others - seemed somewhat resigned to the executions.

"They have surrendered even though there's still legal efforts going on," he said on Sunday.

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"When clemency is rejected, there's no other option, what else can we do?

"Let's just pray. Who knows, there can be miracles."

The Brisbane Times said that in an extraordinary statement after visiting the men inside Kerobokan prison, Mr Rifan said he was prepared to "take the heat" and provide the "never revealed evidence" to Chan and Sukumaran's current lawyer, Todung Mulya Lubis.

"It's something that implicates us, it could discredit me. But for them I will take it. I told Myuran it's okay," Mr Rifan said cryptically. "It's one last thing I can do for them."

Following his dramatic, if imprecise, comments, Mr Rifan left Indonesia to travel to Mecca for a religious pilgrimage.

But as the Bali Nine pair on death row come to terms with their imminent execution, the Indonesian justice system is being accused of hypocrisy after a local methamphetamine manufacturer avoided the death penalty.

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While Australians Sukumaran and Chan face execution for attempting to smuggle drugs into Australia from Bali, local kingpin Hangky Gunawan has been given only a jail sentence for a similar crime.

Despite hundreds of pleas for clemency for Sukumaran and Chan, Indonesian president Joko Widodo maintains that his hard-line stance against drug dealers will not budge.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has also called out Indonesia's justice system for its hypocrisy after Mr Widodo offered "optimum protection" for over 200 of his citizens who face death sentences overseas - some of them being drug smugglers.

"I should also just observe today that millions of Australians are feeling very, very upset about what may soon happen to two Australians in Indonesia," Mr Abbott said.

"My plea even at this late stage is for Indonesia to be as responsive to us as it expects other countries to be to them when they plead for the lives of their citizens on death row overseas."

- Daily Mail

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