In expectation of the Bali bomber executions, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised Australians to defer travel to Indonesia

In Indonesian law the death penalty is provided for: murder with deliberate intent and premeditation; attempting to assassinate the president or vice-president or render him or her unfit to govern; treason; premeditated murder of a head of state of a friendly state; piracy resulting in death; theft resulting in death; narcotics-related offences; crimes against humanity; and terrorism. There has also been talk about it being introduced for illegal logging.Despite the wide span of executionable offences, executions are usually reserved for high-end murders and drug-trafficking offences: that is, multiple murder, or the organising of drug trafficking or trafficking large amounts. There are 112 prisoners on death row in Indonesia, including Bali Nine Australians Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran and drug mule Scott Rush.Many of those on death row can expect to have their sentences commuted in various appeal processes. A person who has been sentenced to death in a lower court can appeal to the relevant High Court, then to the Supreme Court, and then to the president. In Bulubi's case this took more than seven years before he ran out of options. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has often said he will show no clemency for drug traffickers. Indonesia takes a very hard line because of the damage illegal narcotics can cause to society as a whole.
In expectation of the Bali bomber executions, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has advised Australians to defer non-urgent travel to Indonesia. At this stage there is no indication of any planned violence against Australians, but Australians are an obvious target for retribution. Death row prisoners must be given 72 hours' notice of execution, but that information may not be made public for security reasons. Security has been heightened recently at some correctional facilities and at access points into Bali. About 3000 police, including dog handlers, bomb-squad personnel and traffic officers, are involved in the security operation on Bali. Indonesian authorities are also restricting access to Nusakambangan Island where the condemned men are being held.Indonesian executions normally take place in the early hours of the morning. For example, Ayub Bulubi, 40, was executed in April 2007 at a firing range in central Kalimantan at 1.30am. He had murdered a family of six and been sentenced to death in October 1999.Execution is done by a firing squad of 12 military or police officers. Six weapons are loaded with live ammunition and six with blanks. Indonesia executes one or two prisoners a year on average.This year, including the Bali bombers, there will be at least six executions. Two Nigerian men were executed in June for drug offences, and Ahmad Suradji, 57, was executed in July for the murder of 42 women a decade ago.However, Indonesia is well down the international ladder of numbers executed for the nations that still use capital punishment. In 2007, China executed between 470 and 6000 ''criminals'' (accurate data is hard to come by), Iran 317-plus (including some child offenders), Saudi Arabia 143-plus, Pakistan 135-plus, the US 42 and Iraq 33-plus. Executions were also carried out in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Botswana, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, North Korea, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam and Yemen.