This is likely to mark the beginning of the 72-hour notification period before executions that is required under Indonesian law. The ambulance transporting death row prisoner Zulfiqar Ali in Cilacap, the closest town on the Javan mainland to the penal island of Nusakambangan. Credit:Wagino The lawyer for Mr Eleweke, who was arrested in 2003 after police found heroin on the premises of a Jakarta restaurant he owned, responded by lodging an appeal for clemency from Mr Joko. A 2011 Amnesty International report said Jeff, as he is known, did not have access to a lawyer at the time of his arrest, interrogation or detention. "Jeff claimed that he was repeatedly beaten during interrogation and threatened with being shot if he refused to sign papers confessing to possession of the heroin or if he refused to implicate others," the report, "When Justice Fails", says.

"The trial judgement includes the statement that 'black-skinned people from Nigeria' are under surveillance by police because they are suspected of drug trafficking in Indonesia. Such a statement raises concerns about the impartiality of the trial process." The ambulance transporting Zulfiqar Ali to Nusakambangan boards a ferry at Cilacap's port. Credit:Amilia Rosa Mr Eleweke had previously not filed for presidential clemency because he said he was innocent. However his lawyer, Ricky Gunawan from the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH), said the decision to do so now did not mean he was guilty. Michael Titus Igweh, who is facing execution in Indonesia within days, tells a court that police tortured him to extract a confession. Credit:Andri Donnal Putera

"We want to tell the president there is something wrong with Jeff's case. First, he was set up [someone put the drugs in the restaurant without his knowledge], the court's sentence was based on racism and Jeff has been active in religious activities for the past 13 years." Meanwhile Indonesian human rights monitor Imparsial is pleading with Mr Joko to remove Mr Ali, who was sentenced to death in 2005 for possessing 300 grams of heroin, from the execution list. Imparsial spokeswoman Evitarossi Budiawan said Mr Ali had been denied a lawyer during his pre-trial detention. "In addition during detention he was severely beaten, tortured and forced into signing a confession. Ali had to undergo stomach and kidney surgery and is still in hospital." Mr Ali's wife, Siti, cried as she begged for people to listen to Imparsial. "My husband said before he was taken, if anything happened to him people should hear everything that is bad about the Indonesian legal system."

The Amnesty International report, When Justice Fails, said torture remained widespread in Indonesia and forced confessions were routinely relied upon in court: "There are serious concerns around corruption and lack of independence within the judiciary." Meanwhile an Indonesian woman on death row, Merri Utami, was also transferred to Nusakambangan early on Sunday. Chief Security Minister Luhut Panjaitan recently said Indonesia wanted to avoid the "soap opera" surrounding last year's executions, when speculation about the date dragged on for months. Fourteen convicted drug felons, including Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, have been executed in Indonesia as part of Mr Joko's "shock therapy" deterrent approach to tackling the "drug emergency". Despite last year's executions in January and April, National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Budi Waseso said in November the number of drug use cases had increased from 4.2 million in June 2015 to 5.9 million in November 2015.

with Karuni Rompies and Amilia Rosa Follow Jewel Topsfield on Facebook

