SMILING with pure joy, this is the moment Andrew Chan wed his sweetheart Febyanti Herewila. With just one day to live, in front of a close-knit group of family and friends inside Nusakambangan, Chan slipped a ring onto the finger of his sweetheart.
Despite knowing they would have only precious hours as a married couple, they wanted to marry before his life was taken.
Final request ... Andrew Chan at his wedding to Febyanti Herewila a day before he was executed.
Salvation Army Minister David Soper, who spent the last hours with Chan before he was executed, had married them.
The event had been filmed and photographed by officials from the Attorney-General’s and prosecutions office who have spent the past three days documenting the condemned nine people, including Chan and Sukumaran.
The Chan and Sukumaran families were not allowed to take any last photographs of their loved ones and were dismayed to learn that the images of the very private wedding had been leaked to Indonesia’s TV One network.
So too were a series of photographs of the men’s last days.
The couple’s wedding — a rare moment of joy on the bleakest of days — was announced by his older brother Michael.
“It is a tough time but it is a happy time at the same time,” Michael said of the moment of rare happiness.
Speaking after the wedding, Michael added: “Andrew had a special day today, Feby and Andrew have had a bit of a celebration this evening and it was celebrated with family and close friends”.
“It was an enjoyable moment; they’re married.”
The couple were required to get permission from prison authorities in order to marry in the jail.
Chan and Feby, a fellow pastor, were engaged in February in Bali’s Kerobokan prison, after Chan learned his clemency had been rejected and he was set to die.
At the time, Feby told The Daily Telegraph: “Andrew is one of the strongest, kindest people I have ever met.”
Feby said her love for Chan was not borne out of any kind of pity.
“I love him for who he is. And I see what he does for other people and that makes me love him more,” Feby said.
“If you ask me why do I love him, it’s because he also has weaknesses as well but he also has a lot of good things about him. I accept him the way he is. I am also very proud of him.”
Indonesia’s Attorney-General HM Prasetyo seemed to indicate a lack of empathy for Chan’s plight.
He said he agreed to fulfil Chan’s request to wed before his execution, even though he thought it was a joke.
“There was a request from Andrew Chan, I thought it as a joke. He has been isolated, so I think it was a joke but we will fulfill it,” he said.
Salvation Army Minister David Soper, who spent the last hours with Chan before he was executed, had married them.
The event had been filmed and photographed by officials from the Attorney-General’s and prosecutions office who have spent the past three days documenting the condemned nine people, including Chan and Sukumaran.
The Chan and Sukumaran families were not allowed to take any last photographs of their loved ones and were dismayed to learn that the images of the very private wedding had been leaked to Indonesia’s TV One network.
So too were a series of photographs of the men’s last days.
The couple’s wedding — a rare moment of joy on the bleakest of days — was announced by his older brother Michael.“It is a tough time but it is a happy time at the same time,” Michael said of the moment of rare happiness.
Speaking after the wedding, Michael added: “Andrew had a special day today, Feby and Andrew have had a bit of a celebration this evening and it was celebrated with family and close friends”.
“It was an enjoyable moment; they’re married.”
The couple were required to get permission from prison authorities in order to marry in the jail.
Chan and Feby, a fellow pastor, were engaged in February in Bali’s Kerobokan prison, after Chan learned his clemency had been rejected and he was set to die.
At the time, Feby told The Daily Telegraph: “Andrew is one of the strongest, kindest people I have ever met.”
Feby said her love for Chan was not borne out of any kind of pity.
“I love him for who he is. And I see what he does for other people and that makes me love him more,” Feby said.
“If you ask me why do I love him, it’s because he also has weaknesses as well but he also has a lot of good things about him. I accept him the way he is. I am also very proud of him.”
Indonesia’s Attorney-General HM Prasetyo seemed to indicate a lack of empathy for Chan’s plight.He said he agreed to fulfil Chan’s request to wed before his execution, even though he thought it was a joke.
“There was a request from Andrew Chan, I thought it as a joke. He has been isolated, so I think it was a joke but we will fulfill it,” he said.
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