Indonesia set to execute more foreign drug convicts

More foreign drug convicts could imminently face the firing squad in Indonesia after authorities said Monday they were ready to carry out a new round of executions following a hiatus.

Nationals from Pakistan, Nigeria and Zimbabwe are expected to be put to death alongside Indonesians soon, but officials say no Europeans or Australians will face the firing squad in the third round of executions under President Joko Widodo.

Indonesia sparked international outrage with its last batch of executions in April 2015 when it put to death seven foreigners, including two Australians, but Widodo has insisted Jakarta is fighting a war against drugs and traffickers must be harshly punished.

Authorities began stepping up preparations in recent days. A Pakistani drug convict was transferred Monday to Nusakambangan Prison Island off Java, where executions take place, and Indonesian authorities have notified Pakistani officials his execution is imminent.

An Indonesian woman sentenced to death for drugs was transferred to the island at the weekend. Security was tight Monday around Cilacap, the port city on Java Island that serves as a gateway to Nusakambangan, with many police officers deployed.

“All the preparations have been made,” said Molyanto, prisons head in Central Java province, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

Neither Molyanto nor the attorney general’s office, which oversees executions, would confirm when the convicts would face the firing squad or who would be put to death.