"It is not possible today, but soon, as soon as possible. We don't have a target. The sooner the better," the head of Bali prosecutor's office, Momock BambangSamiarso said after a meeting with airport and Garuda representatives to coordinate the transfer. The men will fly to Yogyakarta on a commercial flight and then be driven for about five hours to Cilacap, where they will catch a ferry to Nusakambangan Island, which is home to several maximum security prisons. It was on a field on Nusakambangan Island that five drug felons were shot dead on January 18. However, lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran say they are still very much alive and there is still hope they may stay that way. The lawyers filed an application in the administrative court in Jakarta on Wednesday seeking a stay in the executions, which are scheduled for this month.

In a statement, lawyers Julian McMahon and Michael O'Connell say there has been a "serious error of law" and the two men have been denied natural justice. They say the law requires President Joko Widodo to have thoroughly considered the clemency applications. Instead, the statement says, Mr Joko and other government officials have made it "absolutely clear" that all clemency pleas for drug felons will be rejected as a matter of policy. "President Joko Widodo and Attorney General Prasetyo have repeatedly claimed that other countries must respect Indonesian law," the lawyers said. "It is now time for them to do the same." The statement said the administrative court challenge was not "some half-baked last-minute measure" but raised genuine substantive issues of fairness and justice. "Moreover, it would constitute a grave miscarriage of justice for the executions to proceed before the court could determine whether the decision to refuse clemency was in accordance with the law."

The news of the transfer comes as Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop made an impassioned speech to Parliament on Wednesday. "Our shared hope is that the Indonesian Government and its people will show mercy to Andrew and Myuran," she said. "Australia and Indonesia work in partnership to address drug-related crime at all levels. No country has done as much as Australia to support Indonesia in this area. Not only is there co-operation between our police and law enforcement authorities, but Australia also supports drug rehabilitation and harm-reduction programs in Indonesia. These programs have saved Indonesian lives." Artist Ben Quilty, who held an art workshop at Kerobokan prison on Thursday, said Sukumaran was thankful for Ms Bishop's support. "Myuran is very thankful, he's having a very hard time and he's thankful that he feels the support coming from my country. He's got a big weight on his shoulders but he's staying hopeful."

With Amilia Rosa