Australians Andrew Chan (R) and Myuran Sukumaran wait in a holding cell at a Denpasar court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali February 14, 2006. Both men were sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
IN PHOTO: Australians Andrew Chan (R) and Myuran Sukumaran wait in a holding cell at a Denpasar court on the Indonesian resort island of Bali February 14, 2006. Both men were sentenced to death for drug trafficking . REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that the fight to save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran was far from being over. The Bali Nine convicts were transported from Kerobokan prison to Nusakambangan island on Wednesday.

Bishop said that she had a “very long conversion” with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Tuesday and appealed for clemency for the Australian convicts. She added that she had talked of the remorse and the rehabilitation of Chan and Sukumaran.

Bishop also said that it was “callous” for preparations to proceed for the executions when the legal avenues were still open. Bishop further said that she had asked Indonesian President Joko Widodo to show mercy and forgiveness and grant a stay of execution.

Bishop said that she had not asked the Indonesian president to do anything different from what he would do for Indonesian citizens facing death row overseas. She also pointed out that she had agreed to speak to Indonesia’s Attorney General about her request that Australia would like to be kept informed of the planning and the timetable of the executions.

Bishop kept on appealing for clemency despite being aware that the Bali Nine convicts were moved to the island to be executed. "With the greatest respect we ask again that President Widodo show mercy and forgiveness to Andrew and Myuran which he can do under Indonesian law and it's abundantly clear that they are both reformed men who have shown genuine remorse for their crimes and who, by all accounts, are making a positive difference to the lives of prisoners in Indonesia," she said.

Komang Tri from Bali's justice office, in the meantime, said that Chan looked to be more composed than Sukumaran. He said that Sukumaran looked “a bit pale.” While Chan did “fine,” it seemed that he was in a bit of daze, Tri said. According to reports, Sukumaran is having difficulty sleeping at night, as he has been anxious for weeks.

Chan’s strong faith in Christianity apparently gives him certainty about his destiny in the afterlife. Tri said that both had already packed. He said that their belongings had been searched and found to be OK.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au

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