EXECUTIONS PREPARED FOR BALI BOMBERS, 16 DRUG TRAFFICKERS

The Attorney General's Office says it is preparing to execute three
convicted Bali bombers and 16 drug traffickers sentenced to death for
their offenses.

AGO spokesman I Wayan Pasek Suarte did not reveal when the bombers --
Imam Samudra, 36, Amrozi 43, and his elder brother Ali Ghufron, 46,
alias Mukhlas -- would face firing squads.

The law forbids authorities from publicly releasing dates for
executions until after the events, although the convicts and their
families are informed in advance.

Pasek said the AGO had received preliminary approval from Justice and
Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin to carry out the executions of
the bombers at Nusakambangan Island, a heavy-guarded prison in waters
off Cilacap in Central Java where they are on death row.

Normally, death row convicts are executed in jails in the
jurisdiction where their crimes were committed. However, the bombers
would executed outside of Bali for "safety reasons", Pasek said.

"The justice minister hasn't approved (the executions) formally, but
thanks to our excellent relations with him, we can assure you that we
have received a positive signal from the minister," he said.

Pasek said Imam, Amrozi and Mukhlas and their families had made
formal statements they would not seek clemency from the President.

"That's why we are preparing all the necessary procedures for the
executions," he said.

However, a lawyer for the terrorists, Ahmad Dinan, said the defense
team planned to petition the Supreme Court to review the sentences.

A "legal loophole" would be the focus of the defense's request for a
case review, Dinan said.

"The convictions have violated the Constitution Court's ruling that
laws cannot be retroactive. Because the law on terrorism was passed
after the 2002 Bali bombings, it should not be applied in this case,"
he told The Jakarta Post.

The Denpasar District Court sentenced the three militants to death in
September 2003 for the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people, most of
them tourists from overseas.

Pasek said prosecutors would also execute 16 of 43 men and women the
state had sentenced to death for drug trafficking.

On Saturday, national narcotics agency head I Made Mangku Pastika,
speaking at an event to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse
and Illicit Trafficking, urged prosecutors to quickly execute 39 drug
traffickers on death row.

His call was followed by cheers from thousands of people attending the event.

"Responding to the demand from Pak Made Mangku Pastika, I hereby
clarify that there are 16 men and women who will soon face the death
penalty," Pasek said.

Of the 43 convicts on death row, 13 are appealing their sentences, 10
are filing case review requests with the Supreme Court and four
others are waiting for presidential clemency.

Pastika said at least 15,000 Indonesians died of narcotics-related
illnesses a year.

Two foreign nationals convicted of trafficking offenses were executed
in 2004, and two murderers faced firing squads a year later.