Indonesian authorities executed a Brazilian man last month without allowing a priest to perform the last rites as he waited for the firing squad.

The distressing mix-up, and horrific last minutes of Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira, were relayed to Fairfax Media by Cilacap priest Father Charles Burrows, who was supposed to be called upon to comfort the man.

Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira was executed by firing squad in Indonesia last month. Credit:Reuters

The account comes as the Brazilian government took the extraordinary step of refusing to accept the credentials of Indonesia's new ambassador in protest over its refusal to offer clemency to another of its citizens on death row, Rodrigo Gularte. Indonesia responded by recalling its ambassador-designate.

Moreira was executed on January 18, the last of five drug felons shot by firing squads on Nusakambangan, Indonesia's execution island that sits within sight of Cilacap.