Not so fast: the US sent a high-level delegation, led by the secretary of state, John Kerry, to the inauguration of President Widodo (centre) in October in Jakarta. Wikimedia / US State Department.
It had seemed Indonesia was moving away from resort to the death penalty: it ended a five-year pause in the use of death penalty in 2013. Yet after little over four months in office, the president, Joko Widodo, has overseen the executions of six prisoners, with a further 11 planned in the coming month.
The executions, all for drug-related offences, involve foreign nationals, including from Australia, Brazil, Nigeria, Spain, the Netherlands and Vietnam. And there has been strong external condemnation: Brazil and the Netherlands have recalled their ambassadors, while Australia is imploring Widodo to stay the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, due in the days ahead.
