T

he government is facing continued legal and diplomatic hurdles in its planned executions of nine death row drug convicts, several of whom have filed case review appeals and lawsuits in attempts to avoid going before a firing squad in the next few days.

Although the Attorney General'€™s Office (AGO) claimed that it would announce the date after the Supreme Court had responded on Monday to Indonesian convict Zainal Abidin'€™s case review appeal, which was rejected, it remained tight-lipped even after the response was issued.

'€œThe executions will definitely occur this week,'€ AGO spokesman Tony Spontana said on Monday, but refused to say exactly when or comment on the latest delay.

The convicts'€™ lawyers said on Saturday that the AGO would carry out the executions on Tuesday.

Tony explained that the AGO had heard all nine convicts'€™ final requests, including the request of one of the two Bali Nine drug ring members, Australian Andrew Chan, who requested a wedding ceremony with his girlfriend, Febiyanti Herewila, before his death. The ceremony was held on Monday at the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, where Chan and eight others are in isolation cells.

Also on Monday, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso of the Philippines filed an appeal for a second case review at the Sleman District Court. It was rejected in the afternoon. President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo said that President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines had met him on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur to plead for the life of Veloso.

'€œHe requested clemency,'€ Jokowi said, but indicated that he was unlikely to change course over the executions, which he insisted in December would help end the pervasive and debilitating narcotics problem.

'€œI will look into it once again and will consult with the Attorney General,'€ the President said.

Tony confirmed that Attorney General M. Prasetyo had told Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi over the phone to inform Aquino that Veloso'€™s legal avenues had been exhausted.

Another drug convict, Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, was dropped from the original roster of 10 convicts after it was revealed that he had filed a lawsuit at the State Administrative Court (PTUN) last Thursday against Jokowi'€™s decision to reject his appeal for clemency.

Prasetyo denied that pressure from France had influenced the decision. '€œWe respect the legal process but if the PTUN rejects his suit then he will be executed alone before the third batch [of executions],'€ he said.

Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir said that he would not speculate on the possibility that relations with France would suffer. '€œIndonesia'€™s ties with France are not one-dimensional; there are many aspects to them. We'€™ll continue to show that we'€™ve maintained good relations with France in all of these aspects,'€ Fachir said.

The legal team of another convict on the list, Rodrigo Gularte of Brazil, plans to file a similar appeal with the Tangerang State Administrative Court on Tuesday to delay his execution.

'€œIf the AGO can delay Serge Areski Atlaoui'€™s execution after the Frenchman filed the same appeal to the PTUN then we expect the same treatment. If not, then the AGO is discriminatory,'€ argued Ricky Gunawan, Gularte'€™s lawyer.

Ricky also lambasted the AGO for insisting on including Gularte on the execution list despite Ricky having already informed the AGO that the Brazilian was currently seeking court approval to have a legal guardianship until he recovered from his mental illness.

'€œWe have received invitations from the court to attend the first hearing of the guardianship request on May 6. We want the court to approve our request that my client should receive psychological treatment until he is sufficiently recovered from his mental illness to face execution,'€ Ricky added.

Meanwhile, lawyers working for Bali Nine duo Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have reported to the Judicial Commission (KY) that the death sentences received by the Australians in 2005 were marred with bribery, accusing the judge handling the trial of accepting money in exchange for issuing death sentences.

KY commissioner Taufiqurrohman Syahuri said that the KY would follow up the report, but stressed that the KY'€™s investigation would not have any power to influence the AGO'€™s decision on the executions, even if the KY later found that the judge had received bribes with regard to the verdict.

'€œWe will question the plaintiff to obtain more information about the report in early May. The KY'€™s conclusion will not have any influence on the executions, as the KY has no authority to examine the validity of a verdict,'€ Taufirqurrohman said.

Former Supreme Court justice and legal expert Ade Iwan Iriawan said that the AGO should put its foot down and execute the convicts. '€œThe AGO is not firm enough.'€

'€” Tama Salim and Ina Parlina also contributed to this story.