Indonesia executes four convicted drug traffickers. The convicts were shot by firing squad

The Indonesian government has carried out four of the planned executions of 14 people found guilty of drug crimes, Al Jazeera has learned.

The convicts were shot by firing squad at the Nusa Kambangan penal island shortly after midnight on Friday local time (1700 GMT on Thursday) amid pouring rain, according to TV reports.

Deputy Attorney General Noor Rachmad also confirmed the executions to reporters, according to the AFP news agency. But Rachmad did not say why the 10 other drug convicts had not been executed.

Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta, said among those who were executed were two Nigerian citizens, a South African and one Indonesian. 

"All the others are still waiting their trials to be re-examined," our correspondent said. "It's not very clear what actually were the last conclusions [and] why these executions didn't take place. But the government is saying it has something to do with legal issues."   

The lawyer of Pakistani prisoner Zulfikar Ali had earlier told our correspondent that his client was not among those who had been executed.

Al Jazeera's Vaessen said there had been "a lot of pressure" until the last minute to stop the executions...
 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
29/7/16
--
-
Related:

• L'Indonésie rejette les appels internationaux à stopper les exécutions imminentes 

•  Indonesia quickly rebuffed appeals from the U.N. human rights chief and the European Union to abandon plans to execute 14 people for drug crimes as preparations intensified Thursday at the prison island where the death row inmates are held...

--
4/2015:

• Australia recalls ambassador after Indonesia executes drug smuggling pair 

• Indonesia executes drug smugglers by firing squad

• Anger over Indonesia executions...