Indonesia has executed eight drug convicts, including several foreign nationals, despite strong opposition abroad.
The convicts included two Australian members of a heroin trafficking ring, a Brazilian national, and an Indonesian citizen.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo refused to reduce the severity of the convicts’ punishment, despite opposition and appeals from the international community. The president described the executions as necessary to control what he calls Indonesia’s “drug emergency.”
Local media reports say a ninth convict, a woman from the Philippines, was to be executed, but suddenly was not. Officials say her execution was delayed because of a request from the Philippine president. The Filipina convict has been asked to testify in the trial of a person suspected of human trafficking in the Philippines.
