Indonesia executes six for drug offences

Prisoners killed included foreigners from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria.

The executions mark the first time capital punishment has been carried out under new President Joko Widodo [EPA]

Indonesia has executed six people convicted of drugs offences, including five foreigners, a spokesman for the attorney general's office said. All the convicts were executed by firing squad shortly after midnight local time on Sunday morning. The foreigners were from Brazil, the Netherlands, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria. "The execution of the six convicts has been carried out," spokesman Tony Spontana told AFP news agency. He said five were executed on Nusakambangan Island, off the south coast of the archipelago's main island of Java and home to a high-security prison. The sixth was executed in Boyolali district in central Java. The executions mark the first time capital punishment has been carried out under new President Joko Widodo. Widodo, who took office in late October, signed off on the executions last month. He pledged no clemency for drug offenders, despite pleas from the European Union, the Brazilian government and Amnesty International. Indonesia resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. Widodo has taken a strong stance on the rule of law, not only on drugs but also on corruption and maritime law. In his first few months in office, he has ordered illegal fishing vessels to be blown up by the navy and supported the unprecedented move of dismissing the entire board of energy giant Pertamina.