Families visit Australians on Indonesian death row
CILACAP, Indonesia (AFP) - The families of two Australian drug smugglers facing imminent execution in Indonesia visited them Monday for the first time on a prison island where they will be put to death.
Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, the ringleaders of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug trafficking gang, were sentenced to death in 2006 for trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia.
They recently lost their appeals for presidential clemency, typically the final chance to avoid the firing squad, and are expected to be executed soon with other foreign drug convicts.
The men, in their early 30s, were moved last week from their jail on Bali to Nusakambangan prison island off Java, where the executions will take place.
Australia has mounted a sustained diplomatic campaign to stop the executions going ahead.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott issued a fresh appeal Monday, saying: "We respect Indonesia's sovereignty, of course, we respect Indonesia's system, of course.
"But we think it's right and proper that Indonesia should look to its own long-term best interests and its own long-term best values."
Earlier Monday, the men's relatives arrived at Cilacap, the port town on Java that is the gateway to Nusakambangan, as they headed to see them.
"We're fairly excited to go see Andy today," Andrew's brother Michael told reporters.
"It's been a few days. We're just looking forward to see him when we get over there, giving him a hug."
Sukumaran's brother Chinthu said he and his mother Raji and sister Brintha "have been waiting, counting down the days".
"We've been told he's doing well, so we just want to see him for ourselves, just to make sure, and let him know that we love him."
The families, escorted by consular officials, were expected to spend several hours on the island before returning to Cilacap.
