Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are to be transferred to the execution island of Nusakambanganon on Wednesday, announced Momock Bambang Samiarso, Bali’s chief prosecutor and the man in charge of the transfer.
Families will not be able to visit the two men while preparations for the move are underway on Wednesday as access will be restricted, prison governor Sudjonggo told Fairfax Media. Their families, lawyers and a religious counsellor will be able to visit them on Nusakambangan.
The transfer will use two military transport planes, one containing the Australians and their guards, the other containing another contingent of security personnel, said Momock. The transfer could occur between 10am and 3pm, or perhaps earlier, as Momock told reporters to be on standby from the morning.
The two are expected to be executed by firing squad along with eight other drug felons soon after the transfer. The mass execution will require 120 members of a combined firing squad, 12 for each victim.
Indonesia’s attorney general Prasetyo said on 3 March:
“We will immediately carry out the executions when the preparation is completed…The principle is that once they are there they should not wait too long in their cell.”
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said it was insensitive for the executions to be carried out given the men’s rehabilitation.
“I will continue to contact counterpart ministers to press for a stay of execution,” she reportedly said.
Chan and Sukumaran’s lawyers have called on Prasetyo to respect legal recourse by refraining from transferring and carrying out the execution of the Australians while legal action is underway.
Prasetyo said on 2 March that pending legal appeals for Chan and Sukumaran would not impact the executions and were irrelevant, as the men had their clemency appeals rejected by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Chan and Sukumaran are aware that they will be transferred and, according to Sudjonggo, the two have given some of their belongings to other Bali nine members, and Sukumaran told them to behave well and be careful after he left.
IMAGE: Indonesian police commandos secure ‘mock prisoners’ during a simulation exercise in Danpasar in preparation for the transfer of two Australian drug smugglers on death row. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran are scheduled to be transferred from Kerobokan prison in Bali to Nusakambangan high-security prison where they will face a firing squad. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)