Indonesia executions: Deaths by firing squad attracts widespread condemnation

Only one of the nine scheduled for execution, Filipino Mary Jane Veloso, was spared

A woman places a candle on top of pictures of the prisoners to be executed in Indonesia, during a vigil at Martin Place in Sydney, Australia (Daniel Munoz/Getty Images)

Family members, friends and lawyers of the eight men executed in Indonesia have lashed out at what they called the country's "flawed legal system" following news of their deaths.

Australian men Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerian men Martin Anderson, Sylvester Nwolise, Okwudili Oyatanze and Raheem Salami, and Indonesian Zainal Badarudin were executed by firing squad after midnight on Nusakambangan Island.

Officials said the prisoners were to be given the choice to stand, kneel or sit before the firing squad, and to be blindfolded. Their hands and feet were to be tied.

Michael Chan, brother to 31-year-old Andrew, posted this tribute: "I have just lost a courageous brother to a flawed Indonesian legal system. I miss you already RIP my Little Brother."

A lawyer who acted for the two Australian men, Chan and 34-year-old Myuran Sukumaran, posted emotional messages on Twitter as reports of the executions arrived from Indonesian television.

The pair were sentenced to death in 2006 for their role as ringleaders of the 2005 drug syndicate which attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin into Australia.

Several Australian politicians woke to condemn the executions in the early hours of the morning.

Queensland's Courier Mail has depicted Indonesian president Joko Widodo with blood on his hands on their front page.

Seven News Perth reported that the bodies of Chan and Sukumaran are expected to be brought back to Sydney by Friday 1 May.

Filipino Mary Jane Veloso was spared execution with a reported temporary reprieve.

The case of 30-year-old Veloso, who has two children, ignited protests around the world.

The woman who allegedly recruited her as a drugs mule by promising her a job as a domestic worker in Indonesia handed herself into police in the Philippines on Tuesday.

Veloso is reportedly required for her testimony.

Andrew Chan reflected on his life in a video diary released earlier this year from prison, where he talked about "how precious life really is".

In an interview with 9 News two years ago, Sukumaran said they were 'stupid, immature' kids when they were arrested and were paying for their mistakes.

Additional reporting by AP, Reuters