Australia has recalled its Ambassador from Indonesia after two citizens were executed for drug smuggling.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were among the 8 people from several countries executed by firing squad minutes after midnight on Wednesday, on the prison island of Nusakambangan in central Indonesia.
The Brazilian Government had also expressed its “deep dismay” at the execution of one of its citizens, Rodrigo Gularte.
However, the execution of a Philippine woman, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, was called off at the last minute after her government appealed to Indonesian authority, saying the woman Mary had accused of planting drugs on her, had handed herself in.
Meanwhile, Australia had mounted a lengthy diplomatic campaign to save Chan and Sukumaran, convicted in 2006 of being the ringleaders of a group of Australian heroin traffickers known as the “Bali Nine”.
Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, said on Tuesday that the executions were “both cruel and unnecessary,” noting that Chan and Sukumaran had been “fully rehabilitated” while in prison.
“We respect Indonesia’s sovereignty, but we do deplore what’s been done and this cannot be simply business as usual.
“For that reason, once all the courtesies have been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families, our ambassador will be withdrawn for consultations,” ,” Abbott said.
