Indonesia Rejects Clemency for Brazilian Citizen, Who Is To Be the First Westerner To Be Executed in the Country

01/09/2015 - 09h30

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RICARDO GALLO

FROM SÃO PAULO

The Indonesian government has rejected clemency for Brazilian citizen Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, 53, sentenced to death over drug trafficking.

Officials say he will be executed "very soon".

The pledge was denied on December 31st by President Joko Widodo. This was the second time that Moreira asked for the presidential pardon - the first rejection came in 2006.

According to Indonesian rule, those sentenced may only make two clemency requests, after all opportunities for court appeal have been used.

From the legal point of view, there is not any other action that can be taken to prevent his execution.

"We have met every legal criteria to execute him", said Tony Spontana on Thursday, January 8th, to Folha.

He is the spokesperson for Indonesia's Public Prosecutor's Office, the department responsible for carrying out executions in the country.

"He is one of the next in the list to be executed - and I can guarantee that the plan is to execute him very soon."

The date has not yet been defined, Spontana says, but it can happen as soon as the end of January.

In addition to Moreira, the government intends to execute other five people all at once.

At least until Thursday, January 8th, the Brazilian, who says he is repentant, did not know about the rejection.

In December, Widodo announced that he intended to execute those who were sentenced to death for drug trafficking, which let him nervous - he is allowed to read newspapers in prison.

Brazil's Ministry of External Relations says that it has not received an "official" notice about this matter.

In December, before the rejection was announced, President Dilma Rousseff sent a letter to Widodo requesting the execution to be annulled.

According to what Folha has gathered, Ms Rousseff's cabinet is assessing if there are any additional actions that can be taken to intercede on the behalf of the Brazilian.

The circle closest to the president is said to be working with urgency to find a new option.

The only way to avoid execution is to take the political way. Indonesia's population, the largest Islamic country in the world, is majorly in favor of capital punishment.

Widodo took over office in October with an intimidating speech aimed at drug dealers.

If the capital punishment is fulfilled, Moreira will be the first westerner to be executed in Indonesia.

Between 2000 and 2014, 27 people were executed, most of the Indonesian citizens.

The Brazilian was imprisoned in 2003, after attempting to enter Jakarta airport with 13.4kg of cocaine hidden in tubes used for hang gliding.

The other Brazilian is Rodrigo Gularte, who was also caught with cocaine in Indonesia and is in the same prison as Moreira, in the countryside.

His second request for clemency has not yet been issued.

ISABEL FLECK contributed

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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