Bali bombers lose case over execution method

A top Indonesian court has rejected a claim by three convicted Bali bombers that their executions by firing squad would violate the constitution.

The Constitutional Court dismissed their request for a traditional Islamic-style beheading.

Presiding Judge Mohammad Mahfud said today that judges rejected an assertion by the men’s lawyer that being shot to death is inhumane.

He said “there is no method of execution without pain”.

The 2002 Bali nightclub bombings killed 202 people, most of them Australian tourists. Convicts Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra have exhausted all appeals and are expected to be executed this year.

The bombings – carried out by the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah - thrust Southeast Asia into the war on terror.