Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia and France began discussions on the transfer of death row convict Serge Areski Atlaoui with a technical meeting held in Jakarta on Wednesday.The Coordinating Ministry for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correctional Services and the French Embassy held the discussion following an official request for the transfer of the prisoner from the French Minister of Justice on December 19, 2024.
At the meeting, Chargé d'Affaires of the French Embassy, Laurent Legodec, said that the French government respects Indonesia's sovereignty in sentencing and will adjust the criminal sentence based on the laws in force in France.
Given Atlaoui's deteriorating health, he expressed the hope of his immediate repatriation on humanitarian grounds. The governments of Indonesia and France also discussed the procedure for reaching an agreement that would provide a legal framework for Atlaoui's transfer.
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Laurent expressed the readiness of the French authorities to study the Indonesian proposal to reach an agreement. The two governments agreed to continue discussions to forge an agreement that would be in accordance with both countries' wishes.
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Atlaoui was sentenced to death after being found guilty of operating an ecstasy factory in Tangerang, Banten, in 2007. His pleas for clemency to the Indonesian government were repeatedly rejected.
The French national was recently temporarily transferred from Nusakambangan prison island to Salemba Penitentiary in Jakarta due to his cancer diagnosis.