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Local France
16-07-2025
- Local France
Frenchman given conditional release after years on Indonesia 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 was 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 kilogrammes 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 believed 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. Advertisement He was due to be executed alongside eight others in 2015, but was granted a reprieve after Paris applied pressure and 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.
LeMonde
16-07-2025
- LeMonde
French court grants conditional release to man who spent years on Indonesia death row
A Frenchman who spent almost two decades on death row in Indonesia over drug offenses before being returned to France has been granted a conditional release, prosecutors said Tuesday, July 15. 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 Sédillot told Agence France-Presse. Denies being a 'chemist' Atlaoui was arrested in 2005 at a factory in a Jakarta suburb where dozens of kilos 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 the 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.
New Straits Times
16-07-2025
- New Straits Times
Frenchman given conditional release after 20 years on Indonesia's death row
PARIS: A Frenchman who spent almost two decades on death row in Indonesia over drug offences before being returned to France has been granted conditional release, prosecutors said Tuesday. 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.
New Straits Times
16-07-2025
- New Straits Times
Frenchman given conditional release after years on Indonesia death row
PARIS: A Frenchman who spent almost two decades on death row in Indonesia over drug offences before being returned to France has been granted conditional release, prosecutors said Tuesday. 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.
The Star
24-06-2025
- The Star
Three Brits face one year in prison over Bali drug charges
British nationals (left-right) Phineas Ambrose Float, Jonathan Christopher Collyer and Lisa Ellen Stocker are brought to court for their trial in Denpasar, Bali on June 3, 2025. - Photo: AFP DENPASAR, (Indonesia): Indonesian prosecutors said Tuesday (June 24) they were seeking one-year prison sentences for three British nationals accused of drug offences on the resort island of Bali, a major reprieve in a country with some of the world's toughest drug laws. Jonathan Christopher Collyer, 38, and Lisa Ellen Stocker, 39, were arrested on February 1 after being stopped at Bali's international airport with 17 packages of cocaine that weighed nearly a kilogram, according to public court records. They appeared in court alongside Phineas Ambrose Float, 31, who was allegedly due to receive the packages and was arrested a few days later in February. "(Demanding the court) to sentence the defendants to one year in prison and to keep them in detention," prosecutor Made Dipa Umbara told the district court in Bali's capital Denpasar. Umbara said that while the defendants were accused of breaking the law, they behaved well in court, acknowledged their wrongdoings, and pledged not to repeat their mistakes. The British Foreign Office said it was in touch with local authorities about the case. "We are providing consular support to three British Nationals detained in Indonesia," a spokesperson told AFP. The sentence call came as a surprise as Indonesia typically hands out severe punishments for drug smuggling, including the death penalty, and has previously executed foreigners for doing so. However the country has upheld a moratorium on the death sentence since 2017. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's administration has moved in recent months to repatriate several high-profile foreign inmates, all sentenced for drug offences, back to their home countries. Frenchman Serge Atlaoui returned to France in February after Jakarta and Paris agreed on a deal to repatriate him on "humanitarian grounds" because he was ill. In December, Indonesia took Mary Jane Veloso off of death row and returned her to the Philippines. It also sent the five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring, who were serving heavy prison sentences, back to Australia. According to Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections, 96 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, before Veloso's release. - AFP
