Indonesia and France have signed an agreement to repatriate a French citizen who was facing the death penalty over drug offenses. Serge Atlaoui has been in jail in Indonesia since 2005.

Jakarta on Friday said Frenchman Serge Atlaoui, held on death row in Indonesia for nearly two decades, is to be returned to his home country.

In recent weeks, Indonesia has freed some half a dozen high-profile detainees, including a Filipina mother who was also on death row over a drugs conviction and the remaining five members of the so-called “Bali Nine” narcotics ring.

What we know about the release

Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra signed the deal in a video call with French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.

“I think this is a process that has been quite long … but under the current government the negotiation has been relatively swift,” Yusril told a press conference alongside France’s ambassador to Jakarta, Fabien Penone.

The deal comes after months of talks to repatriate Atlaoui, who is currently suffering from an illness for which he requires weekly hospital treatment.

“It is obviously a great relief to finally learn of the agreement concluded between France and Indonesia for the transfer of Serge,” Atlaoui’s French lawyer Richard Sedillot told the AFP news agency.

“These last few days have been difficult, since the conclusion of the agreement has been postponed several times,” he said.

It remained initially unclear what fate Atlaoui is to face when he returns to France.

What we know about Serge Atlaoui

Atlaoui was sentenced to death in 2007 after being arrested at a drugs factory outside the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The father-of-four, now 61, has maintained his innocence, saying he had been installing machinery in what he believed to be an acrylics plant when he was arrested in 2005.

Initially sentenced to life in prison, Atlaoui had his sentence increased to the death penalty on appeal to the Supreme Court.