Frenchman given conditional release after 20 years on Indonesia's death row
Serge Atlaoui, a 61-year-old welder from Metz, was flown back to France in February after being on death row in Indonesia since 2007.
The father of four, currently incarcerated near Paris, had his sentence adapted by the French courts to 30 years' imprisonment.
Atlaoui has been approved for conditional release on July 18, the prosecutor's office in Meaux said in a statement, adding that it is subject to follow-up obligations.
"It has been a very long battle, there was no question of me giving up at any moment. This is a very great moment for me today, and it will be for him as soon as he is released," his lawyer Richard Sedillot told AFP.
Atlaoui was arrested in 2005 at a factory in a Jakarta suburb where dozens of kilograms (pounds) of drugs were discovered and accused of being a "chemist" by the authorities.
He has always denied being a drug trafficker, saying that he was installing machinery in what he thought was an acrylic factory.
Initially sentenced to life in prison, his sentence was reviewed by Indonesia's supreme court and changed to death on appeal.
He was due to be executed alongside eight others in 2015, but was granted a reprieve after Paris applied pressure and the Indonesian authorities allowed an outstanding appeal to proceed.
Indonesia, which has some of the world's toughest drug laws, has recently released several high-profile detainees, including a Filipina mother on death row and the last five members of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug ring.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Junta chief attends event honouring Suu Kyi's father
Watchful eye: Policemen patrolling a street in Yangon on the 78th Martyrs' Day. — AFP The head of the military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony honouring Gen Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Yesterday was the first time 69-year-old Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades. However, the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former prime minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six Cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country – then called Burma – achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former prime minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, was seen laying a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council and Cabinet as well as high-ranking military generals joined Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10.37am, the time of the 1947 attack. The event comes five months before elections that the military has promised to hold by the end of this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to legitimise the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and is expected to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The 2021 military takeover was met with widespread nonviolent protests, but after peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. — AP
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Gaza civil defence reports 39 killed near aid centres in Israeli fire
GAZA CITY: Gaza's civil defence agency reported on Saturday that Israeli fire killed 39 people and wounded over 100 near two aid centres in southern Gaza. The deaths occurred near Khan Yunis and Rafah, with witnesses describing chaotic scenes as civilians sought food amid gunfire. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal attributed the fatalities to 'Israeli gunfire.' One witness, Abdul Aziz Abed, 37, told AFP he and his relatives went to Al-Tina in Khan Yunis before dawn but only encountered bullets instead of food. Three other witnesses also accused Israeli troops of opening fire. The Israeli military responded by stating it had identified 'suspects' approaching troops in Rafah, posing a threat. Soldiers fired warning shots after calls to turn back were ignored, the military said, adding the incident was under review. The GHF, now the main aid distributor in Gaza, denied reports of deaths near its sites, urging people not to gather overnight. Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on a house near Nuseirat in central Gaza killed 12, according to the civil defence. The war, triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, has left Gaza in dire humanitarian conditions, with severe malnutrition and aid blockades worsening the crisis. The UNRWA said it had enough food stockpiled for three months but faced delivery restrictions. Hamas demands unrestricted aid flow and an Israeli withdrawal in ceasefire talks. - AFP
The Star
14 hours ago
- The Star
Myanmar's military leader puts in a rare appearance at event honoring Aung San Suu Kyi's father
Myanmar's national flag flutters at half-mast outside the City Hall in Yangon on July 19, 2025, on the 78th Martyrs' Day that marks the anniversary of the assassination of independence leaders, including General Aung San, father of the currently deposed and imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi. - Photo by AFP BANGKOK (AP): The head of Myanmar's military government made a rare appearance at a ceremony on Saturday honoring General Aung San, an independence hero and father of jailed former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It was the first time that 69-year-old Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing attended the Martyrs' Day wreath-laying since the army ousted Suu Kyi and seized power in February 2021. The leader's appearance comes as his embattled government is preparing to hold elections while fighting armed opposition groups across the country. Martyrs' Day was an important event in Myanmar's calendar for decades, but the military has downplayed the holiday in recent years. It commemorates the assassination of Aung San, a former Prime Minister who was gunned down at the age of 32 along with six Cabinet colleagues and two other officials in 1947, just months before the country - then called Burma - achieved freedom from British colonial rule. A political rival, former Prime Minister U Saw, was tried and hanged for plotting the attack. Suu Kyi, who was detained when the army took over in 2021, was absent from the event for a fifth consecutive year. She is currently serving a 27-year prison term on what are widely regarded as contrived charges meant to keep her from political activity. She has not been seen in public since her arrest. Ye Aung Than, a son of Suu Kyi's estranged older brother, laid a wreath in front of his grandfather's tomb during the main ceremony at the Martyrs' Mausoleum near the foot of the towering Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. With Myanmar national flags flying at half-staff, members of the ruling military council, and cabinet, as well as high-ranking military generals joined Min Aung Hlaing in placing a basket of flowers in front of the tombs of the nine martyrs. As the ceremony was held, people in Yangon paid tribute to independence leaders by blaring car horns and sirens at 10:37 a.m., the time of the 1947 attack. Democracy supporters also held scattered rallies in parts of the country that are not under military control. The event comes five months before elections that the military has promised to hold by the end of this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to legitimise the military's seizure of power through the ballot box and is expected to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. The 2021 military takeover was met with widespread nonviolent protests, but after peaceful demonstrations were put down with lethal force, many opponents of military rule took up arms, and large parts of the country are now embroiled in conflict. Since the army took power, 6,974 people including poets, activists, politicians and others have been killed, and 29,405 people have been arrested by the security forces, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps detailed tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflicts. The military government calls that figure an exaggeration. The military, which is now estimated to control less than half the country, has been accelerating its counter-offensives to retake areas controlled by opposition groups ahead of the election. - AP
