Indonesia executed a Brazilian
citizen for drug trafficking, ignoring
a plea for clemency from President
Dilma Rousseff and prompting the
Latin American nation to recall its
ambassador for consultations.

Rousseff received confirmation that
Marco Archer was killed soon after
midnight Jakarta time on Jan. 18,
Brazil’s presidency said in an e-
mailed statement. The decision to
execute Archer “gravely affects
relations” between the two
countries, the presidency said. The
Netherlands’ government also
condemned the execution of Dutch
citizen Ang Kiem Soei by
Indonesia.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo
refused Rousseff’s personal appeal
by telephone to spare Archer and
Rodrigo Gularte, another Brazilian
facing “imminent” execution for
drug trafficking, according to a
statement published Jan. 16 by
Brazil’s presidential press office in
Brasilia. Archer is the first
Brazilian to be executed by a
foreign government, according to
newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.

Widodo told Rousseff he couldn’t
commute the sentence because all
judicial proceedings had followed
Indonesian law and the Brazilian
citizens had been granted due
process, according to the
statement. The decision “will
generate commotion in Brazil and
have a negative repercussion for
bilateral relations,” Rousseff told
Widodo.

Brazilian exports to Indonesia
totaled $998 million in the first
half of last year, according to the
International Monetary Fund , while
Indonesian exports to South
America’s largest economy were
$757 million.

Death Row

Brazil’s Prosecutor General Rodrigo
Janot also sent a letter to
Indonesia’s Attorney General HM
Prasetyo on Jan. 16, requesting an
eight-week delay to Archer’s
execution. In the same letter, he
said he saw the possibility for
commutation of Gularte’s death
sentence for immunity reasons.
Gularte wasn’t scheduled to be
executed on Jan. 18.

Dutch Foreign Minister Bert
Koenders said in an e-mailed
statement it’s “tragic” that Ang
Kiem Soei and five others have
been executed. “My sympathies go
out to their families, for whom this
brings a dramatic end to years of
uncertainty,” he said.

The Indonesian Embassy in Brasilia
didn’t immediately respond to a
phone call seeking comment
outside office hours.

Indonesia’s government said in
December it would put to death 64
convicts. Archer was one of six
executed today for drug-related
offenses, according to the Brazilian
government news agency, Agencia
Brasil. Amnesty International said
on Jan. 15 that the executions
would be a setback to the new
Indonesian government’s promise
of improving respect for human
rights.

Australian Appeal

Australian Prime Minister Tony
Abbott also appealed to Widodo to
spare two Australian men from
execution, the Australian
Broadcasting Corp. reported on
Jan. 17 in Sydney.

Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew
Chan were among nine Australians
arrested on the Indonesian island
of Bali in 2005 for attempting to
carry 8 kilograms (17 pounds) of
heroin through the airport. The
group became known as the Bali
Nine.

Sukumaran wasn’t due to face a
firing squad on Jan. 18, though
he’s one of 16 prisoners on death
row whose plea for clemency has
been denied by Widodo, the ABC
said. The prospects of a reprieve
for Chan may be slim after Widodo
indicated he wouldn’t show mercy
for any other prisoner with drug
convictions, the ABC reported.