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AKARTA: The government is putting off executions due to the slowdown in the country'€™s economy, the chief security minister said on Thursday, without explaining the connection.

Indonesia has executed 14 drug offenders this year, straining relations with Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Nigeria, which all had citizens among those shot by firing squad. The last executions took place in April.

'€œWe haven'€™t thought about executing a death penalty with the economic conditions like this,'€ Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan said as quoted by Reuters.

Indonesia'€™s economy expanded 4.73 percent in the third quarter, slightly faster than the six-year low of 4.67 percent reached in the previous quarter.

Shortly after taking office in October 2014, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo signed off on the executions of more than 60 prisoners.

Luhut did not say when the next round of executions was expected to take place.

Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes but previously imposed an informal moratorium on the death penalty for five years before resuming them in 2013.