All legal options closed for French death row convict: Indonesia

Jakarta

A French drug convict in Indonesia has exhausted all legal options to avoid the firing squad after losing an appeal this week, Jakarta said today. 

A court on Monday dismissed a bid by Serge Atlaoui to challenge the president's rejection of his plea for clemency, typically a death row convict's final chance to avoid execution.

Atlaoui was due to be executed alongside eight other drug offenders two months ago but won a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure, with Indonesian authorities agreeing to let an outstanding appeal run its course.

The lawyers of the Frenchman, who was arrested in 2005 in a secret drugs factory outside Jakarta, have pledged to fight on and said they are exploring other legal routes.

However Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said that Atlaoui's latest appeal was "the last legal avenue".

"As far as I know and as far as I understand, there is no more legal avenues that can be pursued on this case," he told reporters.

France has mounted a campaign to save Atlaoui and following the court decision, President Francois Hollande said France was "doing everything" to keep him alive.