Odd execution flight photo 'not a selfie'
Bizarre 'selfie' pictures have emerged of Senior Commissioner Djoko Hari Utomo with Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran on their last flight before execution.
Senior Commissioner Djoko is seen standing in the aisle of the Wings Air plane with his hand on his shoulder in an odd 'friendly' pose, however he said he had no idea the photo was being taken and was urging the pair to 'be tough, be strong, and keep going'.
"It was not a selfie moment," he told Fairfax.
Indonesia President Joko Widodo has said the execution of Chan and Sukumaran, along with eight other convicted drug smugglers, will not occur this week.
Mr Widodo said as the president, he must constitution which still allows executions and the Australian pair's verdicts "have already been decided by the court".
"If you come to the drug rehabilitation centres you will see the affects drugs have on these people, 4.5 million have to be rehabilitated thanks to drug distribution which we are now trying to stop," President Widodo told Al Jazeera.
When asked whether Indonesia could pass down an alternative punishment for Chan and Sukumaran's crimes, he said:
"I am still convinced that the justice system in Indonesia, if you look at drug crime, is still valid and is based on facts and evidence, that’s why when I rejected their clemency.
"I also looked at their cases how may drugs they were carrying, how much was distributed how many kilos was distributed, how many hundreds of thousands of pills were distributed.
President Widodo added that he cannot discriminate against people from different countries.
"I am looking at our national interest and I see 4.5 million people whose lives are in ruin and who need to be rehabilitated, that’s what I see."
Andrew Chan with police escorts on the plane to Nusakambangan Island, where he will be executed with Myuran Sukumaran. Source: 7News
The presidents comments come as Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed she proposed a prisoner swap agreement in an 11th-hour bid to save Chan and Sukumaran from the firing squad.
Ms Bishop confirmed she had talked to the Indonesian foreign minister about a prisoner swap, but would not provide any details of the proposal.
"We are seeking opportunities to explore every option that might be available to us, every avenue that might be available to save the lives of these two men," she told reporters after a candlelight vigil in Canberra on Thursday morning.
"I'm waiting to hear back from the foreign minister. I spoke to her about it, and she undertook to provide that information to the president."
Chan and Sukumaran on Wednesday spent their first night on Indonesia's "death island" Nusakambangan, after being transferred from the Bali jail that has been their home for the past decade.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (left) and Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a dawn candlelight vigil at Parliament House in Canberra. Source: AAP
The pair do not know how long they will wait to face the firing squad, but Mr Widodo has said they will not be executed this week.
Mr Abbott told reporters he had requested a final call with Mr Widodo to again push for the men be spared.
"I can't guarantee that that request will be met," he said after the vigil.
"We respect Indonesia and we honour the friendship that we have with Indonesia, but we stand up for our values and we stand up for our citizens, and these are Australian citizens in extremis."
Ms Bishop later questioned Indonesia's show of force when transferring Chan and Sukumaran, with the pair handcuffed and loaded on armoured vehicles.
"I just cannot comprehend how it is that they could be transferred with so much military equipment and so much security," Ms Bishop told Sky News.
"They've never done anything that would suggest they are violent or that they would risk anybody else's lives."
