“We have just signed a technical agreement between the Indonesian government and the French Republic (…) to transfer a French citizen named Serge Atlaoui,” declared this Thursday, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesian Minister in charge of Legal Affairs and Human rights during a press point, in the presence of the French ambassador to Indonesia, Fabien Penone.
Penone thanked Yusril “infinitely” “on behalf of the French authorities” for the decision to authorize the transfer of Serge Atlaoui.
The agreement was initialed early this afternoon in Jakarta by Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Gérald Darmanin, French Minister of Justice, remotely from Paris, by videoconference.
Repatriation on February 4
The two governments will now finalize the details of his repatriation, which will take place on February 4 at the request of the French government, Yusril told AFP this Friday.
Atlaoui's fate once he arrives on French soil was also to be specified in the agreement.
Initially scheduled for Wednesday, the signing of the agreement was postponed first to Thursday, for scheduling reasons, according to a source close to the discussions, then to Friday.
“It is obviously a great relief to finally have knowledge of the agreement concluded between France and Indonesia and aimed at the transfer of Serge (Atlaoui)”, reacted for AFP Richard Sédillot, his French lawyer.
“These last few days have been difficult, since the conclusion of the agreement has been postponed several times,” he added, from France, indicating that he would “now continue in France (his) assistance to Serge.”
On December 19, France sent Indonesia an official request for the transfer of Atlaoui.
-Accused of being a “chemist”
Atlaoui was arrested in 2005 in a factory where dozens of kilos of drugs were discovered, on the outskirts of Jakarta, and the authorities accused him of being a “chemist”.
The artisan welder from Metz, in the north-east of France, 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 case caused a stir in Indonesia, where anti-drug laws are among the strictest in the world.
Initially sentenced to life in prison, he saw the Supreme Court increase the sentence and sentence him to death on appeal.
He was due to be executed alongside eight other convicts in 2015, but was granted a reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure, with Indonesian authorities agreeing to let a pending appeal take its course.
Sick and transferred to Salemba prison in Jakarta, until recently he underwent treatment every week in a hospital in the capital.
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