Indonesia stood by its stand that drug smugglers don't deserve to live. At 12:25 a.m. of Wednesday, it executed by firing squad eight convicted drug smugglers, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of Australia.

However, Indonesian President Joko Widodo spared at the list minute the life of Filipina Mary Jane Veloso who claimed she was a victim of human trafficking. Widodo stayed her execution after Veloso's recruiter turned herself in to Philippine authorities.

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By early morning, before dawn, eight coffins were seen being carried out of Nua Kambangan Island. The remains of Chan and Sukumaran would be transferred to the consul general of Australia in Bali and then moved to a funeral house in Jakarta, reports 9News.

Officials first checked if the eight were dead and then the corpses were washed. The bullets were removed from their hearts and the wound closed by stitches. The bodies were prayed for and then brought to a mortuary where they were dressed and placed inside the coffins.

In response to the execution, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott recalled the country's ambassador to Jakarta, while Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called their deaths senseless. However, the Australian police actually had a hand in the arrest of the two who were caught smuggling drugs worth about US$400,000 into Indonesia.

Chan, who became a pastor during his 10-year imprisonment, ordered KFC chicken for the death row convicts made up of the two Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian.

The execution places again a gap in the relationship between Indonesia and Australia breached by a phone tapping incident made by Australian intelligence agencies on key Indonesia officials. But Abbott cautioned against calls for a trade backlash, saying he respects Indonesian sovereignty, "but we do deplore what has been done."

While the mood in Australia was somber and angry over the execution, in Manila, relief was felt among millions of Filipinos who have been following Veloso's case and have joined vigils and signed petitions for the life of the domestic worker and mother of two to be spared.

Widodo stayed Veloso's execution after the woman who recruited her for a job in Indonesia turned herself to local authorities. The woman is suspected of planting 2.6 kilograms of heroin in Veloso's luggage.

Indonesia Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo said that Mary Jane Veloso would be allowed to provide evidence of her innocence, reports Reuters.

TagsBali Nine, Indonesia, firing squad, execution, Drug Smuggling, Mary Jane Veloso