Indonesia has rejected the final appeals of three Islamic militants convicted over the 2002 Bali bombings, bringing closer their executions for the attacks that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Denpasar District Court head Nyoman Gede Wirya said Thursday he had received a letter from the Supreme Court saying it had dismissed the three men's appeal for a last review of their cases.
The court had already rejected two other petitions for such a review.
"The Supreme Court explained that an appeal for a judicial review is only allowed once, which means their request could not be processed," he said.
He said Ali Ghufron, Imam Samudra and Amrozi Nurhasyim would now be formally asked whether they wanted to appeal to the president for clemency — their only remaining way to avoid the death sentence.
The three have repeatedly said they will not do this because such a request has to be accompanied by an admission of wrongdoing.
The men were convicted in 2003 of planning and carrying out the Oct. 12 blasts at two packed nightclubs on the resort island, which killed 202 people, most of them tourists.
The men have never expressed any remorse, saying the attacks were in revenge for Muslim deaths in Afghanistan and elsewhere and were sanctioned under their interpretation of Islam.
Indonesia never reveals when executions are going to take place in advance, but there were no indications Thursday the killings were imminent.
The men's lawyer, Mohammad Mahendradata, said he had yet to be informed of the decision.
He said he would attempt to challenge it further, but gave no more details.