Execution to strain Brazil-Indonesia ties: official

Indonesia's decision to execute a Brazilian national despite Brazil's request for mercy will strain relations, an official said Friday.

Marco Archer, who was arrested in 2004 with a charge of smuggling 13 kg of cocaine into Indonesia, is due to be executed at midnight Sunday (1700 GMT Saturday).

Despite the Brazilian government's repeatedly pleas, Jakarta has been adamant, said Marco Aurelio Garcia, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's special adviser on international affairs.

Rousseff personally spoke with Indonesian President Joko Widodo earlier Friday, who turned down her request to spare Archer's life, said Garcia.

"There was no sensibility from the Indonesian government toward Brazil's call for clemency," Garcia said.

"President Rousseff regretted the Indonesian government's decision and stressed that this decision will undoubtedly cause a strain in relations between the two countries."

Rousseff also made a plea on behalf of Rodrigo Gularte, a Brazilian surfer who was sentenced to death in 2004 after six kg of cocaine was found in his surf boards at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. But no date has been set for his execution.

In a statement released earlier in the day, the Brazilian government said Rousseff is aware of the seriousness of the crimes committed by the two men and respects Indonesia's laws, but decided to appeal the sentences on humanitarian grounds.

Capital punishment was abolished in Brazil in the late 1800s. Endi