Jakarta, maximum alert ahead of imminent execution of Bali terrorists

The request on behalf of Amrozi, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra (pictured) rested on their claim that they hadn't been properly informed of the rejection of their previous appeal. In response, a spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office said the bombers had exhausted all legal options and there was no change to the execution plans.

The three men were sentenced to death for the bombings in Bali's tourist strip of Kuta Beach that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians.

Although the date for the execution is not known, police have increased security around Cilacap harbour which connects southern Java to the high-security prison on Nusakambangan Island where the bombers are being held.

Nusakambangan Prison chief Bambang Winahyo said the three men appear to be calm and ready to die, in line with their repeated claims that they want to be “martyrs” for the cause of a South-East Asian caliphate.

As of today relatives and lawyers of the three are barred from visiting them in a further sign that the execution is imminent.

The authorities are taking no chances with the security of high-risk targets like the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after threats of retaliatory attacks were made in the past few days.

Shopping centres, ports, embassies, Christian churches are also under tight control.

In Poso (Central Sulawesi), scene of intense Christian-Muslim sectarian clashes a few years ago, police found bomb-making material.

The state-owned Pertamina Oil Company has also imposed maximum security measures after a plot to blow up its fuel depot in Plumpang in North Jakarta was foiled.

Meanwhile protest is growing in the country. Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid –a new Islamic organisation set up by the radical militant Abu Bakar Baasyir—publicly condemned the execution.

During the trial the three bombers also issued threats, saying that Muslim groups would carry out retaliatory attacks.

In light of the situation the Australian government yesterday issued a travel advisory warning Australians not to travel to Indonesia.

Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah reacted saying that the Australian travel warning was unnecessary as Indonesian security officers would guarantee the safety of foreign nationals.