Indonesian authorities accuse him of being a “chemist”, but Serge Atlaoui has always denied being a drug trafficker, claiming that he had only installed industrial machines in what he believed be an acrylic factory.
France has sent Indonesia an official request for the “transfer” of Serge Atlaoui, a Frenchman sentenced to death in Indonesia in 2007 for drug trafficking, an Indonesian minister told AFP on Saturday, December 28, while Jakarta has recently repatriated a Filipina also sentenced to death.
“We received an official letter requesting the transfer of Serge Atlaoui on December 19. The letter was sent on behalf of the French Minister of Justice,” Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesian Minister of Legal and Legal Affairs, told AFP. of Human Rights.
Contacted by AFP, the French embassy in Jakarta did not wish to comment on this announcement.
“This news obviously arouses immense hope. It would be the culmination of a long fight which has often been discreet but which has always been waged over all these years,” Richard Sédillot, French lawyer for Mr. Atlaoui, reached by telephone.
Serge Atlaoui, aged 61, was arrested in 2005 in a factory where drugs were discovered on the outskirts of Jakarta, with authorities accusing 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, condemning him to death 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.
Discussions “early January”
“As we are in the end-of-year holiday period, we will discuss the contents of the letter in early January,” added Mr. Yusril.
A “more detailed” discussion will be led by officials from the ministry. Likewise, the French Ministry of Justice could also involve staff from the French embassy in Jakarta, according to Mr. Yusril.
Mr. Yusril indicated at the end of November that France had sent a first request to Indonesia. The French Ministry of Justice then asked Jakarta to obtain a series of documents in order to prepare the official transfer request, according to a source close to the case.
“This official request punctuates almost 25 years of fighting to repatriate Serge (Atlaoui) to France,” reacted Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, director general of the NGO Ensemble contre la penalty de mort (ECPM) which has supported him since 2007.
“It is for us who fought for so many years so that Serge was not executed, the penultimate stage of a long fight. We are now waiting for this transfer to become a reality,” added Mr. Chenuil-Hazan , in a reaction to AFP.
“It has been tireless work, and we are happy with an outcome that could be favorable,” added Me Sédillot.
Indonesia currently has at least 530 convicts on death row, according to rights group Kontras, citing official data.
Among them, more than 90 foreigners, including two women, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services.
A 39-year-old Filipina, Mary Jane Veloso, arrested in 2010 and also sentenced to death for drug trafficking, was repatriated to the Philippines in mid-December, after an agreement between the two countries.
Furthermore, five Australian members of the “Bali 9”, arrested on the tourist island in 2005 for drug trafficking and sentenced to long prison sentences, were repatriated to their country on December 15.
Another Frenchman, Félix Dorfin, arrested on the tourist island of Lombok, was sentenced, beyond requisitions, to the death penalty in 2019 also for drug trafficking which he has always denied. The sentence was later commuted to 19 years in prison, which he is currently serving.
According to the NGO ECPM, in addition to Mr. Atlaoui, at least four French people (including a woman) are currently sentenced to death around the world: two men sentenced in Morocco and one in China as well as a woman in Algeria.
The last capital executions in Indonesia date back to 2016: an Indonesian and three Nigerians, convicted of drug trafficking, were shot.
