Indonesia has handed over to French authorities a man on death row for drug offences who will start his return to his home country late on Tuesday, the latest in a series of foreign drug convicts repatriated from the Southeast Asian nation.

Jakarta. Indonesian authorities on Tuesday escorted an ailing French national who has been on death row in the Southeast Asian country to the airport in Jakarta as his return to France got underway following an agreement between the two nations.

A Frenchman on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for drug offences left prison on Tuesday ahead of his transfer to France, officials told French news agency AFP.

A French national held on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for drug offences is returning to France on Tuesday as part of an agreement made between both countries. Serge Atlaoui, 61, was accused of being a "chemist" by Indonesian authorities and arrested in 2005 at a factory in Jakarta, where dozens of kilos (pounds) of drugs were found.

After 17 years on death row for drug offenses in Indonesia, Serge Atlaoui left Salemba prison in Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of his transfer back to France.

Arrested in 2005 and sentenced to death in 2007, Atlaoui has long maintained his innocence, claiming he was unaware of illegal activities on his worksite. View on euronews

Indonesia was set to repatriate a Frenchman on Tuesday who has spent two decades on death row for drug offences, a senior minister said, joining a list of long-term prisoners sent home by Jakarta in recent months.

A Frenchman on death row in Indonesia since 2007 for drug offences left for France on Tuesday, with his lawyer saying he was "happy and calm" ahead of returning home.