Call for redemption as executed Australian mourned

More than 1,000 people mourned Australian drug smuggler Andrew Chan at his funeral in Sydney Friday following his execution in Indonesia, with his brother saying he should have been given a second chance.

Chan -- who converted to Christianity and became a pastor during his decade in jail -- faced a firing squad with fellow Australian Myuran Sukumaran and six other prisoners last month despite pleas for mercy from Canberra.

Both men were sentenced to death in 2006 over their role as ringleaders of a plot to bring heroin into Australia from the Indonesian island of Bali, and their execution has strained bilateral ties.

Chan's older brother Michael told the "celebration service", at an enormous Pentecostal Hillsong Church, he had "undeniably touched many people's lives over the last 10 years".

"People make mistakes in life and deserve a second chance," he said, his voice wavering as he fought back tears.

"He showed us all that even when we have such a heavy burden hanging over our head, we can still change into a better human being.

"Andrew, you used to say you look up to me, and now little brother, I look up to you."

The service was attended by supporters, Chan's parents Ken and Helen, other relatives and Sukumaran's family, who are due to mark his death at a funeral in Sydney on Saturday.

Helen Chan had to be supported as she sobbed while walking behind her youngest child's coffin as it was carried out of the service.

Salvation Army minister David Soper, Chan's spiritual adviser, said he was with the 31-year-old in the moments before his death as he was prepared for his execution.

"Andrew knew the truth, he was prepared to meet his maker. I saw great courage and strength... I will never, never forget," he said.

- See you soon -

Chan's friends spoke of his desire to be remembered not as a member of the "Bali Nine" but as a "messenger of mercy".

Chan said in a letter read to the service by friend Mark Soper, which Chan had written for his funeral, that people should treasure every day.

"Treat each day as a diamond... learn to use it doing the things you love, spend it with the people you care for most, because you just never know when we will say goodbye," he wrote.

Febyanti Herewila, an Indonesian pastor who married Chan in the days before he was killed, said he wrote in one of the last letters to her: "Saya (darling in Indonesia), continue to fight for the rights of (victims of) injustice."

She spoke of Chan's strength and how he led the other prisoners in songs as they were marched to their death on the prison island of Nusakambangan.

She added that in her last message to him she wrote: "I love you. I'll see you soon. Death could not separate us."

Other mourners said they did not know Chan or Sukumaran but were inspired by their transformation in jail and wanted to support the families.

"The life that he led in prison... it's an amazing testimony of the power of God," Deepak George told AFP outside the service.

Another attendee, Jensen Mang, said he wrote three emails to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to plead for the Australians' lives. "I felt that his life had changed," he said, referring to Chan.

The executions cast a shadow over Australia's relationship with its Southeast Asian neighbour, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott recalling his ambassador to Indonesia in protest.