Serge Atlaoui, a 61-year-old Frenchman who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for alleged drug offences, is set to be released following an agreement with the French government. Indonesia and France are scheduled to sign a transfer agreement on Friday, February 4, for Atlaoui’s repatriation, as confirmed by Indonesian Minister of Law and Human Rights, Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
Atlaoui, arrested in 2005 at a drugs factory outside Jakarta, was initially sentenced to life in prison but had his sentence increased to death in 2007 after an appeal. He maintains his innocence, claiming he was unaware the factory was producing drugs and believed he was installing machinery for an acrylics plant.
The signing of the agreement, initially delayed from Wednesday to Thursday, is now scheduled for Friday afternoon in Jakarta. Atlaoui, who is currently receiving weekly medical treatment at a hospital in Jakarta, is expected to be transferred once the final details are confirmed. France had formally requested his transfer last month, and his fate upon return to France may be revealed at Friday’s press conference.
Indonesia has some of the world’s strictest drug laws and has executed foreigners in the past. At least 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, most for drug-related crimes, with over 90 of them being foreigners. Despite ongoing negotiations for Atlaoui’s transfer, Indonesian authorities have indicated that executions for drug offenders could resume soon.
