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Indonesia executes drug trafficker

Indonesia has executed a Pakistani man for drug trafficking in what may also be a worrying sign for two Australians still on death row in Bali.

Prison guards stand outside a gate of Kerobokan Prison in Bali
Indonesia has executed a man for drug trafficking - the fifth person to be put to death since March. (AAP)

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Source: AAP


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Indonesia has executed a convicted drug trafficker - the fifth person to be put to death since March - in what could be a worrying sign for Australians on death row in Bali.

Pakistani man Muhammad Abdul Hafeez was executed by firing squad on Sunday morning at a cemetery on the southern outskirts of the capital Jakarta.

The Indonesian Attorney-General's Office had already announced it would execute at least 12 people this year, in a move seen as departure from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's previous statements that suggested Indonesia was moving away from capital punishment.

Hafeez, 44, was sentenced to death in 2001 for attempting to smuggle more than a kilo of heroin into Indonesia.

Two Australians remain on death row in Indonesia - the Bali Nine's Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - both of whom were sentenced to death in 2005 for their roles in a plot to smuggle more than eight kilos of heroin out of Bali to Australia.

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Both men have lodged appeals for clemency from Dr Yudhoyono and are awaiting his decision.

The clemency appeals are their last avenue for avoiding the death penalty.

The execution of the Pakistani came amid rising nationalism ahead of next year's presidential elections and increased tensions between Jakarta and Canberra over the spying scandal.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office, Setia Untung Arimuladi, said more executions would be scheduled.

"Concerning those on death row for drug offences who have not yet been executed, it is because, among other reasons, there are convicts who are still seeking legal recourse, such as appeals to demand a case review," he said.

Last year, Indonesia sentenced 113 people to death for various offences, mostly for drug offences and murder.

Those facing the death penalty in Indonesia are commonly given just 72 hours notice of their execution date.


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