Disturbing photos have surfaced of the Denpasar police chief posing with Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan during their flight to Nusakambangan Island.
The pictures appear to show Senior Commissioner Djoko Hari Utomo smiling as he stands next to each of the condemned Bali Nine duo on their final journey before their execution.
The Senior Commissioner has denied he was trying to take a selfie, telling Fairfax he was merely trying to raise the pair’s spirits.
“It was not a selfie moment,” he said. He said he was urging the men to “be tough, be strong, and keep going”.
Opinion: No-one would have wept for these men ten years ago.
Australia is making an official complaint to the Indonesian government over the pictures, which were published in local and international media.
ABC News reports that the Indonesian ambassador will be summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tomorrow, to answer questions over the photos and the disproportionate use of force during the transfer of the two prisoners.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop described her shock of Indonesia’s treatment of the pair on ABC’s AM program.
“I just cannot comprehend it. They are two men who are described by their own prison governors as model citizens, two gentlemen who pose no risk to anyone,” she said.
“I cannot comprehend the manner or the method of their transfer to the so-called execution island.”
Keep reading: Julie Bishop’s final attempt to save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Top Comments
It's all about emotionally torturing the two men, and taunting Australia. They'll only get away with it - if we let them.
Marniequin2 posting as Guest
We have to understand that different cultures have attitudes
that might sometimes be quite different from ours.
Luck of the draw . . . where you're born and raised
shapes your perceptions, your sense of humour,
your views on the appropriateness of behaviour
(Other cultures might find some Australian behaviours
inappropriate, quite alarming and distasteful.)