JOKO WIDODO: SAVE SERGE ATLAOUI FROM DEATH BY FIRING SQUAD

Serge Areski Atlaoui is a French citizen arrested and sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking. His case could lead to the first execution of a French citizen since Hamida Djandoubi in 1977. In 2005 Serge Atlaoui was working in Indonesia. He was responsible for maintenance of machinery in what he thought was an acrylics factory. 17 people - including Serge Atlaoui - were arrested in the factory that turned out to be a production unit of ecstasy pills. Of the 17 arrested, four Indonesians were released while six Indonesians, five Chinese and two Europeans were charged .

After his trial in November 2006, Atlaoui maintained he thought to be in a production plant of acrylics and not ecstasy. He was nevertheless sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking. According to the Foreign Ministry, Serge Atlaoui lacked an interpreter. Further to an appeal In 2007 Serge Atlaoui was again convicted and this time sentenced to death by firing squad.

The Indonesian president Joko Widodo elected in 2014 rejected all requests for pardon for any drug prisoners on death row. Atlaoui then requested a retrial with the Supreme Court . This request was rejected on 21 April 2015. The court also rejected the request for review. This was Atlaoui’s last resort .

Two days later it was announced that his execution was in preparation, however on April 25 the office of Attorney General (ATO) withdrew his name from the list of all upcoming executions in order to process new information in his file.

Atlaoui currently lives in intense psychological torture. The appeal with the Administrative court should have been examined on May 7 however it is postponed from May 7 to 13, 2015 due to the unavailability of Atlaoui’s lawyer.

Several executions took place January 18, 2015. Eight more were executed on 29 April 2015. We ask for mercy and plead for a stay of execution for Serge Atlaoui and all currently on death row.