Indonesia to execute 8 for drugs, including 7 foreigners

Indonesia's government is preparing to execute eight drug smugglers, including seven foreigners, an official said on Tuesday.

Jakarta: Indonesia's government is preparing to execute eight drug smugglers, including seven foreigners, an official said on Tuesday.

The spokesman for the attorney general's office, Tony Tribagus Spontana, said two Australians, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, are among the foreigners.

He did not provide the others' nationalities, but the attorney general earlier told Parliament that they are from Brazil, Nigeria, France, Ghana and the Philippines.

Sukumaran, 33, and Chan, 31, are being held in Kerobokan Penitentiary on the tourist island of Bali. They filed for judicial reviews last week, but Spontana ruled out the requests.

They are among nine Australians who were arrested in 2005 on charges of attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin to Australia from Bali. The group has been dubbed the "Bali Nine" by Australian media.

Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws. On January 18, it executed six drug convicts including foreigners from Brazil, Malawi, Nigeria, the Netherlands and Vietnam, brushing aside last-minute appeals by foreign leaders.

More than 130 people are on death row, including 57 drug convicts and two convicted terrorists.

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