Finally a reason for hope for those close to Serge Atlaoui. The Indonesian Minister in charge of Legal Affairs and Human Rights announced, Friday, November 29, that the French Embassy delivered a letter from the Minister of Justice, at the beginning of November, to request the repatriation of the Metz prisoner. Contacted by AFP, the French embassy in Indonesia has not yet reacted.
Serge Atlaoui, a 60-year-old from Messin, was arrested in 2005 in Indonesia, while he was working in a factory where drugs had been discovered. Accused of having participated in its manufacture, the Moselle welder has always proclaimed his innocence. Sentenced to death in 2007, he escaped execution in 2015.
Some of the toughest drug laws in the world
The artisan welder from Metz (east) and father of four children, has always denied being a drug trafficker, claiming that he had only installed industrial machines in what he believed to be an acrylic factory. The affair caused a stir in Indonesia where anti-drug laws are one of the strictest in the world.
Initially sentenced to life in prison, he saw the Supreme Court increase the sentence, sentencing him to the death penalty on appeal. He was due to be executed alongside eight other convicts in 2015, but was granted a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure, with Indonesian authorities agreeing to let a pending appeal take its course.
Indonesia is currently in discussions with three countries, namely the Philippines, Australia and France for the repatriation of several prisoners, said the Indonesian minister, adding that he hoped that these transfers could be done by “the end of December“.
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