Countdown appears to start for execution of foreigners

Indonesia has asked foreign embassies to send representatives to the maximum-security prison island of Nusakambangan ahead of the expected execution of 10 convicts, although an official 72-hour notice of execution has not been given yet, diplomats said on Friday.

Among the convicted drug offenders set to face a firing squad are nationals from Australia, Brazil, France and Nigeria. The case has strained relations between the governments of those nations and Indonesia.

"We have been told to be there on Saturday," said a foreign embassy official who asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak to the media. "We still don't know when the actual date of execution will happen but we expect that it will be in days."