No pause for Bali Nine executions

Challenging the denial of clemency for Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran has failed to halt preparations for the executions.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop

Julie Bishop says she's taking the right approach on behalf of Bali Nine death row inmates. (AAP)

Indonesian officials are making secret preparations for the executions of Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, even as the federal government urges them daily to reconsider.

Lawyers for the men had hoped a challenge of their clemency denial would at least put a pause on the executions.

But Indonesia's Attorney-General HM Prasetyo on Tuesday confirmed plans to execute the men are going ahead.

"It will proceed," he told reporters.

"We haven't determined the time yet."

Denpasar District Chief Prosecutor Imanuel Zebua says officials in Bali, where the two are jailed, are pressing ahead with plans.

They had requested instructions from the attorney-general on the transfer of the pair from Kerobokan to Nusakambangan, a prison island off central Java, where five drug offenders were executed last month.

Mr Imanuel said the move would be secret, kept even from their families.

"It could be on the day before the execution and we don't have to tell the family first," he told reporters.

"We also don't want to tell you (media) either. You could be waiting for us at the airport."

Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, would be allowed to make a last request, the prosecutor said, and that could be done at Bali's Kerobokan jail rather than on Nusakambangan.

President Joko Widodo denied the men clemency despite their rehabilitation, which is supported by a flurry of testimonies in recent days from present and former inmates.

Lawyers for the Sydney men will challenge the presidential decree that denied them clemency without looking at their circumstances in an administrative court.

They had hoped the executions would be put on hold, pending the court action.

The Bali Nine ringleaders' families travelled to Jakarta on Monday, where Sukumaran's mother Raji made a heartfelt plea.

She said her son and Chan were unlike other prisoners, having dedicated themselves to rehabilitating other inmates with classes in art, cooking and computers.

The families returned to their twice-daily jail visits on Tuesday.

Chan's father Ken, who recently underwent surgery after a fall, saw his son for first time in three years.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says the government, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, is making daily representations in a bid to save Chan and Sukumaran.

"We're making representations, privately and publicly, to stay the execution," she told the Nine Network on Tuesday.

"And we will not give up, we continue to do that on a daily basis."


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Source: AAP


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