French man on death row in Indonesia to return home

A French national held on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for drug offences has left prison to return to France as part of an agreement made between both countries.

Serge Atlaoui, 61, was accused of being a "chemist" by Indonesian authorities and arrested in 2005 at a factory in Jakarta, where dozens of kilos (pounds) of drugs were found.

An agreement was made between Indonesia and France on 24 January to extradite the father-of-four on "humanitarian grounds" because he has cancer and has been receiving weekly treatment at a hospital.

"It's a miracle," his wife Sabine Atlaoui told France's RTL radio. "He survived 19 years of incarceration. He survived an execution."

The 61-year-old will be handed over to French police at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, before boarding a commercial flight to Paris.

Upon returning, Atlaoui will be presented to prosecutors "and most likely detained while awaiting a decision", Atlaoui's lawyer Richard Sedillot told AFP.

Atlaoui told his family he does not want to meet them at the airport, his wife said.

"He wants to see his family again when he is free," she told RTL. "Unfortunately, we do not know how long it will take."

In France, the maximum punishment for a similar crime is 30 years, Indonesia human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Reuters.

It will be up to Paris to grant "clemency, amnesty or a reduced sentence", he said.

Atlaoui, a welder from Metz in north-eastern France, has always denied being a drug trafficker.

He claimed to be installing machinery in an acrylic factory, but told AFP in 2015 he "thought there was something suspicious".

Originally sentenced to life in prison, the verdict was changed to death on appeal by the Indonesian supreme court.

His execution was scheduled for 2015, but paused thanks to pressure from the French government.

Recently, Indonesia has released a number of high-profile detainees imprisoned under the country's strict drug laws.

Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina mother who spent nearly 15 years on death row for carrying 2.6kg (5.7lb) of heroin through an Indonesian airport, was extradited in December.

The five remaining members of the "Bali Nine" drug ring returned to Australia the same month.

There are currently 90 foreigners still on death row in the country, including one woman, according to the Ministry of Immigration and Correction.

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The 61-year-old, who has cancer, is to be extradited to France on "humanitarian grounds".