Indonesia court rejects appeal of Frenchman facing execution

An Indonesian court on Monday rejected a last-ditch appeal against the death sentence by Serge Atlaoui, a French national, making him the latest foreigner to face execution for drug offenses and prompting a message of support for him from France.

Atlaoui had been granted a reprieve while legal avenues were exhausted and was left out of a group of seven foreign prisoners who were executed on April 29.

Presiding Judge Ujang Abdullah said the court has no capacity to rule on the case, since granting clemency is the prerogative of the president.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo's refusal to grant clemency despite repeated pleas for mercy has strained Indonesia's relations with a number of countries, including Australia, Brazil, the Netherlands and Nigeria, which have all had citizens on death row.

Atlaoui's case has drawn attention in France, which vigorously opposes the death penalty. Muslim-majority Indonesia takes a hard-line stance against drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013. So far this year, it has executed 14 people, mostly foreigners, convicted in drug cases. Officials justify the death penalty by pointing to the estimated 18,000 young Indonesians who die each year from drug use.

He has no further legal options but will not be executed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Tony Spontana, a spokesman for the Indonesian Attorney General's Office, told reporters.

"There's no other legal avenues that his lawyers can take, therefore the execution will definitely go ahead," added Spontana, who gave no other indication of when Atlaoui might face the firing squad. "For sure, it will not happen in the Ramadan month."

Atlaoui's lawyer, Nancy Yuliana Sunjoto, said his legal team will still look for other legal channels.

French President François Hollande warned Indonesia of diplomatic consequences last month if Atlaoui is executed. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday that France firmly opposes the death penalty and has "totally mobilized" behind Atlaoui.

"We're in contact with the family and lawyers of Serge Atlaoui, who plan further courses of action," he said in a statement.

But Widodo's determination to deal harshly with drug crimes has won him popular support at home, despite the criticism by some rights groups and international leaders.

"We want to send a strong message to drug smugglers that Indonesia is firm and serious in tackling the drug problem, and one of the consequences is execution if the court sentences them to death," he told Al Jazeera in March.

Atlaoui, a welder, was arrested in 2005 in a secret factory that produced ecstasy pills outside Jakarta, with authorities accusing him of being a chemist at the site. 

But Atlaoui, the father of four, has maintained his innocence, claiming that he was installing machinery in what he thought was an acrylics plant. He was initially sentenced to life in prison, but the Supreme Court increased the sentence to death on appeal.

"He didn't know anything about the chemicals. He's just a welding technician," Sunjoto said. 

Al Jazeera and wire services