A Frenchman on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for drug offences will be sent back to his home country, an Indonesian minister has said.
"What we signed today is an agreement between the two governments to transfer a French citizen under the name of Serge Atlaoui," Indonesia's senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said.
Indonesia has in recent weeks released half a dozen high-profile detainees, including a Filipina mother on death row and the last five members of the so-called "Bali Nine" drug ring.
Indonesian officials announced the transfer agreement for Atlaoui, a 61-year-old Frenchman arrested in 2005 at a drugs factory outside the capital Jakarta, at 3pm (8am Irish time).
Mr Yusril told AFP the prisoner would be repatriated on 4 February "as requested by the French government".
The ministry said in an invite to media that a press conference would be held after a "closed-door signing of the practical arrangement" for Atlaoui's transfer.
The signing of the agreement, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was first postponed to yesterday for scheduling reasons and then again to today, according to a source close to the discussions.
"The agreement is due to be signed early Friday afternoon in Jakarta by Mr Yusril and Gerald Darmanin, the French Justice Minister, remotely from Paris, by videoconference," the source said.
Atlaoui would be transferred at a later date because the final details for his repatriation still needed to be agreed, the source added.
He is currently suffering from an illness in a Jakarta prison and receives weekly treatment at a hospital, raising the stakes of his transfer.
The French government submitted an official request for his transfer last month, and Atlaoui's fate upon his return to France could be announced later today.
Maintained innocence
Father-of-four Atlaoui has maintained his innocence since his imprisonment, claiming that he was installing machinery in what he thought was an acrylics plant.
He was initially sentenced to life in prison, but the Supreme Court in 2007 increased the sentence to death on appeal.
Atlaoui was held on the island of Nusakambangan in Central Java, known as Indonesia's "Alcatraz", following the death sentence, but he was transferred to the city of Tangerang, west of Jakarta, in 2015 ahead of his appeal.
That year, he was due to be executed alongside eight other drug offenders who were killed but won a temporary reprieve after France stepped up pressure, with Indonesian authorities agreeing to let an outstanding appeal run its course.
Indonesia has some of the world's toughest drug laws and has executed foreigners in the past.
At least 530 people were on death row in the Southeast Asian nation, mostly for drug-related crimes, according to data from rights group Kontras, citing official figures.
Indonesia's Immigration and Corrections Ministry said more than 90 foreigners were on death row, all on drug charges, as of early November.
Last month, Filipina inmate Mary Jane Veloso tearfully reunited with her family after nearly 15 years on Indonesia's death row.
Despite ongoing negotiations for Atlaoui's transfer, the Indonesian government recently signalled that it will resume executions - on hiatus since 2016 - of drug convicts on death row.
