Three Indonesian militants sentenced to death for major roles in the 2002 Bali bombings have refused to request a presidential pardon and are ready to face the firing squad, a prosecutor said today.
The decision could bring forward their execution, something ordinary Balinese have demanded in numerous protests after more bomb attacks on the resort island this month.
Joko Subagyo, state prosecutor in the central Java city of Cilacap, said lawmakers from Bali as well as himself and other local prosecutors notified the three convicted bombers of their right to request a presidential pardon on Wednesday.
The three militants - Imam Samudra, Amrozi and Ali Gufron - were shipped from Bali to a prison island not far from Cilacap this month as protests and anger grew in the wake of the latest suicide blasts on Bali on October 1st that killed 20 people.
"We went to see them separately and they all rejected offers to sign a form requesting the presidential pardon," Mr Subagyo said. "They said 'I am ready to be executed anytime soon'," he added.
Under Indonesian law, execution, which is by firing squad, cannot be carried out until all legal procedures have been exhausted. The families of the convicted, however, also have the right to request a presidential pardon.
"The families have now been notified but as far as I know, we haven't got any reply from them," Mr Subagyo said.
The October 12th, 2002, bombings at two nightclubs in Bali killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists. Police blamed Jemaah Islamiah, an al-Qaeda-linked network, for the atrocity.