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Gunfire from the execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan was masked for many by mourners singing Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' and the media's electricity generators, Jewel Topsfield reports.
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In their final moments with their loved ones Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were full of life and dry-eyed as they comforted their weeping families, supporters said.
They did all they could to make amends, helping many others.
They faced their executioners defiantly, refusing the blindfolds that may have offered some respite from the sight of the gun barrels pointed at their chests.
Into darkness: Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were condemned to death.
All eight condemned men sang as they stood front of the firing squad, "praising their God", said Pastor Karina De Vega, who was waiting close by.
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Shots rang out across Nusakambangan island at 12.35am local time, signalling the end of a desperate campaign for mercy to save the lives of the two Australians. Also executed to international condemnation were four Africans, one Brazilian and an Indonesian. A Philippine maid secured an 11th hour reprieve.
Their corpses lying in the night air, the living said prayers over the dead before they were moved to the mortuary. Their bodies were washed and the bullets buried in their hearts were removed, said Tony Spontana, a spokesperson for Indonesian Attorney-General.
"I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system": Andrew Chan brother, Michael. Photo: Jason Childs
Their blood would not have stained the white lining of the coffins. Their skin, torn open only moments earlier, was stitched back together.
It is understood that both Chan and Sukumaran died quickly. None of the eight condemned men were shot in the head. Their wounds would have been hidden once they were dressed in fresh clothes.
Soon after, the bodies of the condemned Bali nine ringleaders were lowered into their coffins and the lids shut tight.
A midnight candle light vigual held at Wijaya Pura in Cilacap on the day of the execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sakamaran at Kerobokan Prison. Tuesday 28th April 2015. Photograph by James Brickwood. SMH NEWS 150428 Photo: James Brickwood
Their eight coffins were loaded onto eight ambulances that boarded the ferry from Nusakambangan to Cilacap port where their families waited. Chan and Sukumaran then began their final, lonely journey home.
As the ambulances carrying the bodies disembarked at Cilacap port, Indonesian police officers locked arm in arm guarded the convoy and the grim procession began its 10-hour journey to Jakarta.
Amid their tears and hugs, Chan and Sukumaran's family and friends fell in behind the police-escorted convoy of ambulances carrying their men.
Coffins leaving Wijaya Pura in Cilacap after the executions on Nusakambangan. Photo: James Brickwood
Their mothers, Raji Sukumaran and Helen Chan, were supported by their children as they boarded vans, minibuses and one large bus.
They were clearly exhausted, and appeared dazed as they tried to come to terms with the enormity of their grief.
"Today we lost Myuran and Andrew," the families said in a statement overnight.
Tunggal Panaluan, the firing range on Nusakambangan where Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed. Photo: James Brickwood
"Our sons, our brothers. In the ten years since they were arrested, they did all they could to make amends, helping many others," they said.
Chan's brother Michael tweeted: "I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system. I miss you already RIP my Little Brother."
"Bless the lord o my soul . Myu likes this song . He sang it today. Please sing it for him," Sukumaran's sister Brin posted on Facebook.
For them the sight of the coffins in the back of the ambulances confirmed the killing of their loved ones, which hours earlier had been only the sound of gunshots in the night.
At the time of the execution many of the family members became hysterical while others offered consolation, Fairfax Media was told.
"By the time the coffins arrived for identification and official handover, the families were calmer and the process went smoothly," the source said.
Once the convoy reached Jakarta, the corpses were prepared at one of the city's mortuaries for their repatriation to Australia.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Australia's consul-general Majell Hind will be required to identify the Australians.
Australian officials are with Chan and Sukumaran's families, and Ms Bishop said it would be their job to see the bodies are returned, with the respect and dignity they deserved.
The corpses of the reformed men and spiritual pastors will be loaded on a flight, likely to depart Thursday and arrive in Sydney on Friday, ten years after a pair of drug smugglers named Chan and Sukumaran made their doomed journey to Bali.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1FwZDDd
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