A “dismayed” New Zealand government has condemned the execution of the Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran and six other prisoners. The Bali Nine ringleaders were executed by firing squad in the early hours of April 29 by Indonesian firing squad.

Aside from Chan and Sukumaran, the other prisoners were Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Indonesian Zainal Abidin, Ghanaian Martin Anderson and Nigerians Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise, Raheem Agbaje Salami and Okwudili Oyatanze. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said the country was dismayed by the decision of Indonesia to implement the executions despite numerous attempts from various governments to reconsider.

“New Zealand is strongly opposed to the death penalty in all cases, and under all circumstances. We have expressed our opposition to the death penalty to Indonesia and I made this clear when I met with the Indonesian Foreign Minister recently,” said McCully.

The reaction of the New Zealand government comes after Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Australia will withdraw its ambassador in Indonesia after the bodies of Chan and Sukumaran have been sent home to their families. Mr Abbott had called the executions as “cruel and unnecessary,” reports TVNZ.

New Zealand has not revealed a similar plan to send its ambassador packing from Indonesia. McCully said New Zealand respects the right of Indonesia to exercise its sovereignty and uphold its own laws. He added that he was aware of the consequences of drug trafficking.

The foreign minister went on to say that despite appeals from some of Indonesia’s closest friends, the executions still pushed through. McCully believes the recent executions were setbacks to Indonesia’s effort to consolidate democratic institutions and improve human rights in recent years.

Stuff reports that New Zealand Labor Foreign Affairs spokesperson David Shearer described the execution of the eight prisoners as “deplorable.” He said it was “inhumane” for Indonesia to let them wait 10 years in death row before they faced the firing squad. Shearer believes the death penalty was not the solution to Indonesia’s drug trafficking problems, saying it would only diminish the country’s progress on human rights.

A New Zealander, Anthony del Malmanche, was arrested in December for attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into Bali. He is now in prison facing the death penalty. The 52-year-old was arrested at the Denpasar International Airport.

In an interview on Radio New Zealand, McCully said de Malmache came to mind after the recent executions were carried out. He noted that what New Zealand says and does could have consequences for others in the future.

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