Bali Nine: Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran arrive on Nusakambangan island ahead of execution

Updated

Australian drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have arrived on the prison island where they are scheduled to face the firing squad.

The men were taken out of Bali's Kerobokan prison in a police armoured vehicle before dawn this morning.

Photographs released by AAP news agency then appeared to show Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, being manhandled onto a chartered plane at Bali's Denpasar airport.

The men were taken off the plane in Java and taken to the port of Cilacap, where they were put on a ferry for the short journey to the Nusakambangan island prison where they are due to be executed.

The date when they will face the firing squad is yet to be announced, but Indonesia's attorney-general is required to give them 72 hours' notice.

The pair are among a group of 11 prisoners slated to be executed on Nusakambangan.

Just minutes before they left their Bali prison this morning Chan's brother Michael turned up at the gates and attempted to be allowed inside, but he was denied access.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the Government was "revolted" by the prospect of the two men being killed and was continuing to press Indonesia for a stay of execution.

"I think right now millions of Australians are feeling sick in their guts at the prospect of execution for these two," he said.

"But I've got to say anger is not a very good basis on which to determine a nation's policy, and in the long run, anger is not a very good basis on which to determine your own conduct.

"So let's see how things develop, let's maintain our values, let's maintain our respect for human life as a nation and as a society, but let's remember that a good relationship with Indonesia is very important to this country.

"And whatever might happen in the next few days, the relationship with Indonesia must endure and over time it must grow stronger."

Federal politicians have re-formed the Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty Group, which was disbanded at the last election, in a show of support for the Bali Nine pair.

"There were some suggestions earlier that perhaps at least some people in the Indonesian system were having second thoughts, but I'm afraid those second thoughts seem to be dissipating," he said.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has said he will not grant clemency to drug traffickers on death row.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop told Parliament she had spoken to the "devastated" families of both men this morning, and said she would continue to plead the two men's case.

"I know that Indonesia opposes the death penalty as it applies to its citizens when they face death row in countries overseas," she said during Question Time today.

"So we're not asking the [Indonesian] president or the government to do any more than they ask of other governments when their citizens are on death row.

"We will continue to appeal to president Widodo's strength and his humanity to show mercy and forgiveness for these two Australian men who have undergone this remarkable rehabilitation."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said people should not give up despite the transfer of the men.

"We know that the Indonesian people are generous and we appeal to that generosity," he said.

"We do not believe that anything is solved by executing these two young men who by all accounts have more than rehabilitated themselves."

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Police reinforcements arrive at Kerobokan prison this morning (ABC News)

Former attorney-general Philip Ruddock said Australia would continue to seek a stay of execution.

"It would appear to suggest that the Indonesians are progressing to a situation where they will be executed, I think that is clear, but that doesn't mean we should stop putting our representations [forward] and I know the Foreign Minister's been very active in relation to the matter," Mr Ruddock said.

"I don't think [the disbandment of the Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty Group] would, in that sense, have made an immediate difference in relation to the convictions that they suffered, the death penalty that was imposed, but I've wanted to ensure that we have a continuing role in these matters."

Lawyers for Chan and Sukumaran are still attempting a legal appeal, but the Indonesian government is effectively ignoring that, saying nothing can stop the executions.

Lead lawyer Todong Mulya Lubis said continuing with the process would be an injustice.

"What is the point of having all this legal recourse available, provided to you by the law, if they don't respect it?" he said.

Mr Lubis said going ahead with the executions would deeply disturb the international community.

The Indonesian ambassador to Australia, Nadjib Kesoema, earlier today said the country was not "trigger-happy" and wanted "space" to discuss the use of capital punishment.

"Indonesia is now doing a very, very robust, very frank discussion, debate on this and I believe that you will see the result in the near future," he said at a function in Perth.

Topics: prisons-and-punishment, law-crime-and-justice, drug-offences, world-politics, foreign-affairs, human-interest, bali, indonesia, australia

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