CRI听力:Execution Triggers Backlash in Indonesia

The Indonesian government has confirmed the execution of eight drug smuggling convicts early on Wednesday by a firing squad.

The execution of the members of the group, including 7 foreigners, came amid last-ditch appeals by their respective countries for their lives to be spared.

Attorney General Muhammad Prasetyo confirmed the execution hours after the deaths had been widely reported.

"The executions have been successfully implemented. After being examined by the medical team who stated that the prisoners were dead, the execution has been completed."

The executed included two Australians, four Nigerians, a Brazilian and an Indonesian man.

A 9th person who had due to be executed, Filipino woman Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, was given a last-minute reprieve following a request from the President of the Philippines.

The executions have triggered a backlash.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced that his country will withdraw its ambassador from Jakarta.

"Australia respects the Indonesian system. We respect Indonesia's sovereignty but we do deplore what's been done and this cannot be simply business as usual. For that reason, once all the courtesies have been extended to the Chan and Sukumaran families our ambassador will be withdrawn for consultations. I want to stress that this is a very important relationship between Australia and Indonesia but it has suffered as a result of what's been done over the last few hours."

Meanwhile, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has said in a statement that the execution of a second Brazilian citizen in Indonesia this year "marks a serious event in the relationship between the two countries".