CNN: Indonesia Executes Eight Drug Smugglers Despite Protests, Australia Recalls Ambassador To Indonesia

Eight death row inmates in Indonesia, mostly foreigners, were executed early on Wednesday. They were executed by firing squad, CNN reported.

The inmates were convicted of drug smuggling. The inmates executed were Nigerians Raheem Salami, Silvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Okwudil Oyatanze and Martin Anderson. Indonesian inmate Zainal Abidin, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte along with Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

The inmates were all given 72 hours notice before their execution. The inmates were singing hymns as they were executed, Sky News reported.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the executions “cruel and unnecessary.” Abbott said that the two Australians killed had been “fully rehabilitated” in their decade of prison.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement Sunday about the execution,

“Nothing can be gained and much will be lost if these two young Australians are executed. I again respectfully call on the President of Indonesia to reconsider his refusal to grant clemency. It is not too late for a change of heart.”

The Indonesian government, though, has reiterated that the inmates had exhausted all their legal options. Spokesperson Tony Spontana said about the execution:

“We do not have to wait for the constitutional review case filed by the Australians. The execution will go ahead as planned,”

Spontana said about Indonesia’s legal process.

“We are not at war with them, we are at war with our country’s drug problem. We respect our relations with our ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors, but we should also respect the principle of noninterference in each other’s internal affairs,”

The Indonesian government say that they will remain tough on drug crimes. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said about his country’s war on drugs:

“Narcotics is damaging our nation’s youth. It should be explained – the press should explain – that every day 50 of our young people die every day because of drugs. That’s 18,000 per year. We are serious in our war against drugs.”

Australia has since recalled its ambassador to Indonesia for consultations after the two Australians were executed. Widodo, though, responded to the recall of the Australian ambassador to Indonesia, saying “Our legal sovereignty must be respected, we also respect other countries’ legal sovereignty.”

Abbott, along with Amnesty International, had begged for clemency earlier in the year, The Inquisitr reported.

Abbott said about his nation’s relationship with Indonesia: “We respect Indonesia’s sovereignty, but we do deplore what’s been done and this cannot be simply business as usual. I want to stress that this is a very important relationship between Australia and Indonesia but it has suffered as a result of what’s been done over the last few hours.”