Indonesia’s squadron of Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets has a strange new mission—riding shotgun beside a transport plane hauling two Australian prisoners to an island prison where they could face a firing squad for smuggling drugs.
“The Indonesian military commander has given the order to assist the relocation of the two death defendants,” Maj. Gen. Torry Djohar said on Feb. 22. “A squadron of Sukhoi jet fighters will be prepared to escort the Hercules aircraft that will be used to transport the defendants. We will also deploy ocean patrol and land forces.”
“Death row inmates are routinely whisked into the dense forest at midnight, blindfolded, asked to stand, sit or kneel and simultaneously fired at by 12 executioners aiming for their chests,” the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“The firing squad is drawn from Indonesia’s paramilitary forces and if the prisoner is still breathing, the commander will shoot him or her point-blank in the head.”