AFTER 72HRS, INDONESIA MAY EXECUTE FOUR NIGERIANS

Indonesia has given a group of death row inmates 72 hours' notice before they face the firing squad. Fourteen prisoners listed for execution, including foreign nationals from Pakistan and Nigeria. They will be the first executions since Australians Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan faced the firing squad in April last year, and the third round endorsed by the current President.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop Of Australia has spoken out against the looming executions with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. And Diplomats, rights groups are pressuring Indonesia to halt executions, citing worries about irregularities with some convictions.

Mr Widodo has insisted Jakarta is fighting a war against drugs and traffickers must be harshly punished. Deputy Pakistani ambassador in Jakarta Syed Zahid Raza said the convicts, including a Pakistani, could be executed around midnight Friday.

Lawyers for some of the group have said their clients may seek last-minute clemency from President Joko Widodo, meaning their executions could be delayed.

The country's Attorney-General's office, which oversees executions, would not confirm any details but spokesman Mohammad Rum said: "The time is approaching."

Pakistan has so far publicly voiced the most concern about the upcoming executions, and its foreign ministry summoned the Indonesian ambassador to Islamabad to convey their concerns about the case of their national, 52-year-old Zulfiqar Ali.

Activists said Mr Ali, sentenced to death in 2005 for heroin possession, was beaten and tortured into confessing and did not receive a fair trial.

In a statement, Amnesty International urged "the country's authorities to halt all executions and to take immediate steps to ensure that the cases of all those under sentence of death are reviewed by an independent and impartial body".

There have also been concerns over the case of a female Indonesian drug convict, Merri Utami, who is among the group. Rights group, the National Commission on Violence Against Women said the former domestic worker was tricked into trafficking heroin.

Authorities have been making preparations, with death row drug convicts transferred to Nusakambangan prison island, where Indonesia puts convicts to death, and 14 prisoners reportedly placed in isolation — an usual step before executions.

About 1,500 police were being deployed around Cilacap, the town closest to Nusakambangan, visitors have been barred for a week and Muslim and Christian spiritual counsellors were seen crossing to the island.

Indonesia — which has some of the toughest anti-drugs laws in the world — executed 14 drug convicts, mostly foreigners, in two batches last year.