The execution of seven foreigners convicted of drug charges in Indonesia last week sparked global reactions on Jakarta’s insistence to go ahead with the sentencing despite mounting appeals for clemency, while some also questioned the appeals as hypocritical.

The Guardian, commenting on Australia’s outpouring of diplomatic efforts and public appeals to Indonesia to spare the lives of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, said in a editorial: “Some may chafe at what can look like the West’s selective concern. Few know the names of the Indonesian, Brazilian and Nigerians shot alongside the Australians on Wednesday… But Jakarta is also guilty of double standards. While Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, insists on the harshest possible response to tackle the ‘national emergency’ of drugs, the Indonesian government simultaneously seeks clemency for its citizens on death rows abroad, including those convicted of drug crime and murder.”

Observing that there is no evidence that the death penalty deters crime, the newspaper said: “For Mr Widodo, the real rationale appears political and domestic. A weak leader, embattled even within his own party, seeks to beef up his image at home by refusing to bow to international pressure. More executions are likely.”

However, the newspaper also admitted that “targeting Indonesia alone could prove counterproductive.”

“The issue is not that states should spare those who are repentant or who are foreign… It is simply that taking life is unjust and incompatible with fundamental human rights. Those who are criticising Indonesia should also press powerful nations such as the US, China and Japan to spare their own nationals,” it said.

Weighing in on the executions, the Jakarta Post said: “While Australia and other countries might feel compelled to take diplomatic measures it should be noted that Indonesia’s actions are not prejudiced toward one country or another. There are more Indonesians on death row due to be executed than any other nationality. There is no need to unnecessarily escalate the tensions, which could jeopardize the bilateral relationships that have been so carefully built.”

The newspaper stressed in an editorial that the core issue was one of “countries opposed to the death penalty and those who still apply it as punishment,” and sought to underscore Australia’s human rights record: “Every country will respond in accordance to threats and act in their own national interests. In the same way Australia has disregarded international humanitarian pleas not to turn back migrant boats because the Tony Abbott government believes it is in its national interest, so too has the Jokowi administration acted.”

The paper also cautioned against a misreading of the situation within Indonesia. “What many outside this country do not realize is that there is as much if not greater debate concerning the executions as there is abroad. Nevertheless, it is a policy that has been made based on the due process available, no matter how imperfect, and thus should be respected. Indonesians themselves should step up the war on corruption to better ensure a clean, reliable judiciary,” it said.

Reactions in the Australian media ranged from outrage at the executions to a more calibrated approach at the death penalty.

“By any measure, the story of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan has been a tragedy,” said The Age in an editorial. “It now appears that, from the moment they were arrested on April 17, 2005, in Denpasar attempting to smuggle 8.3kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia, their fate was sealed…Indonesia no doubt knows Australia’s opposition to capital punishment has at times wavered, most notably when our neighbours executed the terrorists who orchestrated the 2002 Bali bombings and neither prime minister John Howard nor his Labor counterpart Simon Crean voiced disagreement.”

The Courier Mail, on the other hand, was more jingoistic: “The macabre process of killing convicted drug traffickers in Indonesia – culminating this week in a grisly and shocking midnight murder – began three months ago when the drawn-out countdown for Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran began with a guessing game that at times seemed deliberately prolonged…Everything that has been done by the Indonesian authorities has jarred here in Australia, as it has in the countries of the six other foreigners also to face the firing squad.”

Observing that the executions will have a long-term negative impact on bilateral relations, the newspaper said: “The way these sentences are being carried out has inflamed anti-Indonesia passion in Australia, causing potential visitors to think again about going to Bali, Java or elsewhere in the island nation. Overall sentiment towards Indonesia has soured and, with the death of these men, will take a long time to sweeten.”