Indonesia's Supreme Court said yesterday that a new appeal filed by lawyers for relatives of the Bali bombers against their imminent execution would not delay the sentence being carried out.

Imam Samudra, 38, Mukhlas, 48, and Amrozi, 46, members of the militant Islamist group Jemaah Islamiah, were sentenced to death for their role in attacks on two nightclubs in Kuta in 2002 that killed 202 people, including Indonesians and foreign tourists.

Security has been increased across Indonesia in the past few days ahead of the expected executions. Yesterday, police laid down barbed wire and stationed armed officers at the entrance to the port that serves the prison island housing the three men.