France Requests Transfer of French Death Row Inmate from Indonesia

JAKARTA: France has formally requested the transfer of a French national imprisoned in Indonesia on drug charges for more than 18 years.

Serge Atlaoui, a 61-year-old welder, was arrested outside Jakarta in 2005 and sentenced to death for allegedly being involved in a chemical factory. The harsh Indonesian drug laws have led to executions and lengthy prison terms for foreigners convicted of trafficking or related crimes.

At the weekend, Indonesia's coordinating minister for legal, human rights, immigration, and correctional affairs, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, revealed to AFP that France had sent an official letter requesting Atlaoui's transfer. The talks would be scrutinised in early January after the holidays.

Atlaoui has expressed his innocence through multiple appeals, claiming he was merely installing machinery at what he thought was an acrylic factory, rather than handling chemicals. Initially sentenced to life imprisonment, his sentence was bumped up to death in 2007 following a court appeal.

However, France's efforts came as Indonesia prepares to resume carrying out the death penalty for drug convicts on death row once more. The last executions took place between 2016 and 2019 when Indonesian courts temporarily halted carryings out due to a nationwide moratorium in August 2022