INDONESIA yesterday signalled it was determined to push ahead with the execution of eight foreign drug convicts, despite a growing wave of global condemnation led by United Nations (UN) chief, Ban Ki-moon.

Authorities on Saturday gave formal notice to the eight – from Australia, Brazil, Nigeria and the Philippines – that they would be executed by firing squad imminently, along with an Indonesian prisoner.

However, a Frenchman also on death row for drug-related crimes was granted a temporary reprieve after Paris stepped up pressure on Jakarta, according to AFP.

The group has been moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan, where Indonesia puts condemned prisoners to death.