Court rejects man’s execution appeal

An Indonesian court rejected a French national’s last-ditch appeal against the death sentence, making him the latest foreigner to face execution for drug offences and prompting a message of support for the prisoner from France.

Serge Atlaoui had been granted a last-minute reprieve while legal avenues were exhausted and was left out of a group of seven foreign prisoners who were executed on April 29.

President Joko Widodo’s refusal to grant clemency despite repeated pleas for mercy has strained Indonesia’s relations with a number of countries, including Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Nigeria, which have all had citizens on death row.