Australia will lodge official complaint over photo of Indonesian police smiling with Andrew Chan

The Australian government will make an official complaint to Indonesia about the damning photos of police smiling with Bali Nine ringleader Andrew Chan during his transfer to Nusa Kambangan.

The Indonesian ambassador will be summoned to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade tomorrow to hear the complaint, which will also cover the use of excessive force to transfer Chan and fellow Bali Nine death row prisoner Myuran Sukumaran.

The news comes after Indonesia ruled out a last-minute prisoner transfer as Australia’s leaders continue efforts to save the Bali Nine ringleaders from looming execution.

The convicted heroin smugglers have been taken to Nusa Kambangan under paramilitary police guard.

The island will be where they spend their last days, with the executions possible as soon as this weekend.

The transfer comes as reports emerge Indonesian diplomats have told the United Nations the country is exploring the possibility of a moratorium on the death penalty.

A report released by the UN about a debate on capital punishment around the world noted Indonesia said the death penalty was a “constant subject of discussions” in the country.

The nation’s officials noted Indonesia could reintroduce a moratorium on capital punishment “for most serious crimes”.

However, any change is likely to come too late for Chan and Sukumaran.

Families of the two men have landed in Java and are now travelling to make their final farewells.

A number of Sukumaran’s friends have already said goodbye.

Friend Kavita Krishna said Sukumaran had always been “humble, kind and loving”.

A fellow inmate of Chan’s, Arif Matius, said he was “angry” the man who baptised him is now facing state-sanctioned “murder”.

Despite President Joko Widodo’s endorsement of the death penalty, opinion is heavily divided in Indonesia, with many citizens opposed to capital punishment.