JAKARTA ~

Indonesia has indicated that it rejects Australia’s offer to swap prisoners, stating that this method was not known in the country’s legal system.

“The foreign affairs minister (Retno L.P. Marsudi) told her Australian counterpart (Julie Bishop) that Indonesia’s legal system or law does not recognize a prisoner swap. So the offer cannot be realized,” a spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry Arrmanatha Nasir said here on Thursday.

Nasir confirmed that Bishop had contacted Foreign Affairs Minister Marsudi to convey the offer.

He added that Marsudi had received a telephone call from Bishop on Tuesday while she was in New Zealand for a bilateral visit.

Indonesia considered the offer as part of Australia’s efforts to protect its citizens, Nasir remarked.

He pointed out that Australia would try all possible ways to protect its citizens in Indonesia, but they should be in line with the Indonesian legal system and the diplomatic code of ethics.

“It means Australia cannot violate Indonesian law and must respect the legal sovereignty of our country,” the spokesman emphasized.

Australia has been reported to have offered a prisoner swap recently as part of efforts to have its citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran released from being executed soon, following the rejection of their pleas for clemency by Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo.

Australia has offered three Indonesia prisoners, now in the country’s jail over narcotic cases, in exchange for the release of Chan (31) and Sukumaran (33).

Three convicts sentenced to death over drug cases arrived on Wednesday morning at the execution island of Nusakambangan in Cilacap, Central Java, where they will face a firing squad soon.

They include the two Australian Bali Nine members, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, and Nigerian national Raheem Agbaje Salami.

Chan and Sukumaran were moved from Krobokan Prison in Denpasar to Ngurah Rai Airport, from where they were flown by a chartered flight at 6:50 a.m. local time amid heavy rain to Cilacap.

Escorted by two Sukhois and two F-16 fighter planes, the plane that Chan and Sukumaran boarded arrived at Cilacap’s Tunggul Wulung Airport at 8:14 a.m. local time.

They were then transferred from the airport, and arrived at Nusakambangan Island under tight security at 8:50 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

Salami was also transferred from Madiun Prison in East Java to Nusakambangan Island early on Wednesday.

Chan, Sukumarang, and Salami are among the 11 convicts on death row who will be executed soon.