Australian PM Tony Abbott Repeats Clemency Request as 'Bali Nine' Duo Execution Edge Closer

In the wake of two Australian citizens awaiting the news of their execution for being part of the "Bali Nine" group, Australian embassy officials in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta have been called to meet with the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

The group of nine Australian citizens, who were apprehended in April 2005 for trying to smuggle a massive amount of heroin from Indonesia to Australia, are commonly addressed as "Bali Nine".

Even as Australia mounts pressure on the Muslim-dominated country not to execute Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, it is not clear whether Indonesia will show mercy to the duo.

The news of the meeting came after Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott repeated his clemency request for the two men, stepping up calls for Indonesia to show some mercy to Chan and Sukumaran.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, confirming the meeting, said that few other diplomatic missions were also invited, reports ABC News.

Indonesia was making preparations for the executions of Chan and Sukumaran on Thursday before Abbott put forth his clemency request – an instance that is likely to have halted the execution temporarily.

Abbott said he expects the Indonesian government to respond to his request in the same way it would expect other countries to respond to it when faced with a similar predicament.

"My plea, even at this late stage, is for Indonesia to be as responsive to us as it expects other countries to be to them when they plead for the lives of their citizens on death row overseas," he said, adding that Australia would be "angry" if the execution takes place, especially taking into consideration the aid money that Australia gave to Indonesia following the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.

It is not known if the date of the executions will be set at Monday's meeting. When five drug felons from foreign countries were executed in Indonesia on 18 January, the respective embassies were notified a day before the announcement was made in public.

The Indonesian government has promised that a 72-hour notice will be given to those facing execution.