Indonesia ignores appeals and executes four drug convicts

Indonesia has executed four drug convicts, despite continuing criticism of the country’s harsh anti-drugs laws.

One Indonesian man and three Nigerians were killed by firing squad at the Nusakambangan prison island just after midnight local time.

Another 10 convicts, also convicted of drug-related offences, had a last-minute stay of execution but still face the death penalty.

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Indonesia is one of 33 countries worldwide that use the death penalty for drug offences. It "has some of the world’s toughest drug laws," says BBC News, "and has faced intense criticism internationally for resuming executions."

The UN announced last year that executions for drug crimes amount to a violation of international law. Among Indonesia's most vocal critics is Amnesty International, which says the country is holding 165 on death row - more than 40 per cent for drug-related crimes.

But Indonesia refuses to yield in the face of condemnation. Its Attorney General, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, said "Whether we accept it or not, it’s a matter of rule of law" - a line upheld earlier in the week by a Foreign Ministry spokesman. Indonesian prosecutors always stress that only convicts who have exhausted all legal avenues are put on the execution list, CNN notes.

In fact, despite its draconian approach to drug smuggling and trafficking, Indonesia had executed relatively few prisoners in recent years, reports the New York Times, "despite having dozens of convicts on death row."

That changed when Joko Widodo became president in October 2014. He declared that the country was facing a "drugs emergency" and rejected clemency appeals from more than 60 death row inmates.

Less than a year later, in April 2015, Indonesia caused diplomatic outrage when it executed 14 drug convicts, including two Australians and one Dutch citizen. Protests prompted President Widodo to tell countries like Australia and the Netherlands not to interfere with Indonesian sovereignty.

The president's office cites figures that drugs are killing at least 40 people a day, but "several international experts have questioned the methodology used to arrive at those statistics," Reuters says.