Frenchman on death row in Indonesia expected to return home to France within two weeks, minister says

A Frenchman who has been on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for alleged drug crimes is expected to return home within weeks after an Indonesian minister said a deal would be signed on Friday to allow his transfer.

Senior Minister for Law and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Reuters on Friday that Serge Atlaoui was expected to return on February 5 or 6 Return to France on the same day.

Indonesia has released six high-profile detainees in recent weeks, including a Filipino mother on death row and the last five members of the so-called Bali Nine drug cartel.

Mahendra said Indonesian officials would hold a news conference with their French counterparts on Friday to announce the deal for Atraoui's handover. Atlaoui, a 61-year-old welder, was arrested in 2005 at a pharmaceutical factory outside the capital, Jakarta.

“We will sign the arrangement tomorrow at 3pm. The French justice minister has confirmed it today,” Mahendra told AFP on Thursday night.

In an invitation to the media, the ministry said it would hold a press conference following the “signing of the actual arrangements behind closed doors” for Atlaoui's transfer.

The signing of the agreement was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was postponed first to Thursday and then to Friday due to scheduling reasons, according to people familiar with the matter.

“The agreement will be signed remotely by Mr Yousril and French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin in Jakarta early on Friday afternoon via video conference,” the source said.

Atlaoui fell ill in a Jakarta prison and received weekly treatment at the hospital, increasing his risk of being transferred.

PSG formally submitted a transfer request last month and Atlaoui's fate upon his return to France could also be announced on Friday.

Father-of-four Atlaoui has denied the drug charges since he was jailed, claiming he worked as a welder installing machinery at what he thought was an acrylic factory.

He was initially sentenced to life in prison, but the Supreme Court sentenced him to death following an appeal in 2007.

After being sentenced to death, Atraoui was imprisoned on Nusa Kambangan Island in Central Java, known as Indonesia's “Alcatraz”, but pending an appeal he was transferred to Tange, west Jakarta, in 2015 Lang City.

He was scheduled to be executed that year along with eight other drug convicts, but received a temporary reprieve after increased pressure from Paris and Indonesian authorities agreed to let a pending appeal proceed.

Indonesia has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world and has executed foreigners in the past.

At least 530 people are on death row in the Southeast Asian country, mostly for drug-related crimes, human rights group KontraS said, citing official figures.

As of early November, more than 90 foreigners were on death row on drug charges, according to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Services.

While negotiations for Atraoui's handover are ongoing, the Indonesian government recently said it would resume executions of drug inmates on death row – which have been on hiatus since 2016.