Indonesian authorities have confirmed Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran will be moved to Nusakambangan Island prison. They are among ten people who will be transferred to the prison this week for execution. While the method of execution varies slightly from case to case it is likely the scenario will be similar to the last time Indonesia carried out executions on the island in January.
The prisoners will be advised the morning before their execution. Shortly after midnight they will be taken to a forest clearing in the centre of the island. There they will be bound to wooden planks using rubber tubing and given the option of wearing a hood. They will then be shot through the heart at close range. Death is far from instantaneous, of the five people executed in January the quickest death took over six minutes. Under Indonesian law it would be illegal to slaughter an animal for food in this manner.
The reason Chan and Sukumaran face this fate instead of lengthy gaol terms in Australia is because of the actions of the Australian Federal Police in 2005. Despite the fact that the AFP were tracking the Bali Nine and could have arrested them the moment they stepped off the plane in Australia they decided to tip off the Indonesian authorities knowing full well that at least some of them would be killed as a result. The AFP is yet to provide an explanation for why they took this unnecessary action or why the government was not consulted beforehand. Then Attorney General at the time, Philip Ruddock, has stated that he would have opposed the decision.
The people in the AFP who are responsible for this decision are unlikely to ever provide an explanation for their actions, an expression of regret, or even an assurance that they will not do the same to Australian citizens in future. I hope however that those responsible do spend at least six minutes on the night of Chan and Sukumaran’s executions reconsidering their decision. It’s the only chance that anything good might come from this murderous farce.