Indonesia, France agree to repatriate French death row convict Atlaoui
Serge Atlaoui, 61, said to be suffering from cancer, was arrested in 2005 and due to be executed in 2015, when he was granted a reprieve
Indonesia and France on Friday signed an agreement to repatriate a French man on death row over drug offences, an Indonesian minister said.
Serge Atlaoui, 61, who has been in jail in Indonesia since 2005, is expected to return to France on February 4, said Yusril Ihza Mahendra, the senior minister for law and human rights affairs.
“What we signed today is an agreement between the two governments to transfer a French citizen under the name of Serge Atlaoui,” he told reporters after signing the agreement with French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, via video teleconference.
Yusril said Indonesia agreed to repatriate Atlaoui, in prison in Jakarta, for “humanitarian” reasons as the Frenchman was suffering from cancer.
Indonesia has in recent weeks released half a dozen high-profile detainees, including a Filipina mum on death row and the last five members of the so-called Bali Nine drug ring.
Atlaoui was arrested in 2005. He was sentenced to death for being a chemist in a Jakarta ecstasy factory that was capable of producing 100kg (220.46lb) of the illegal pills every week.
