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| Three of Bali Nine spared death | |
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| Topic Started: Wednesday Mar 5 2008, 03:22 PM (50 Views) | |
| StevenKoops | Wednesday Mar 5 2008, 03:22 PM Post #1 |
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THREE death row members of the Bali Nine heroin gang have had their lives spared by a last-ditch appeal that led to their sentences reduced to life imprisonment. Three judges in Indonesia's highest court, the Supreme Court in Jakarta, have decided Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen do not deserve to die for their crimes. It is understood the three young men have yet to be told of the decision to spare their lives. And today Rush's father said he was still trying not to get his hopes up. "Definitely I think there's an opportunity there but, you know, we're dealing with the unknown," Lee Rush said on ABC radio. "We've had them up before and you go down, so we don't want to get our hopes up." Speaking on Channel 9, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said: "Our officials in Indonesia, in Bali and Jakarta, are seeking to confirm formally the decision." "If the reports are accurate then of course it's very welcome." The trio's Jakarta-based lawyer Farhat Abbas said last night the decision had been made on February 11. "So far, everything is done," he told The Australian newspaper. "Maybe next week I will announce it in Bali." Tan Nguyen's sister Vanessa also told the paper of her relief at the decision. "No one knows yet," she said. "We haven't seen the official papers." The Daily Telegraph has seen the court documents and interviewed one of the judges involved in the decision, believed to be the first time the Supreme Court has overturned a death penalty in a drugs case. Judge Hakim Nyak Pha said the trio's tender ages and previous good character played a major role in the decision to grant them mercy. He revealed that in making the decision, there had been an "intense discussion" about what penalty was appropriate. In the end, it seems the fact that they were not big fish in the drug business played a big role. "If they were recidivists there would have been no mercy for them," Judge Pha said. "It was not their job. They are not masterminds and they are not earning their money from smuggling." The life-saving decision came after all three apologised to the court for their stupidity and expressed profound remorse and regret for getting involved in a heroin smuggling operation. The trio launched a last appeal - known as a judicial review or PK - claiming the court which had increased their sentence from 20 years to the death penalty was in error, especially given that prosecutors in their cases had never demanded or recommended death. The decision brings the number of Bali Nine members on death row to three but is welcome and heartening news and a good sign for the other three members who have yet to lodge their own judicial reviews against the death penalty. It is also a sign that the aggressive anti-drugs stance of Indonesia in some cases spares people who are not the main players. Norman, Chen and Nguyen were originally sentenced to life in jail at their first trial, in Denpasar District Court. The next court then cut the sentence to 20 years. But when the prosecution appealed this they were handed the death penalty. The full text of the Supreme Court's decision has not yet been completed or released, but a five-page document setting out the decision and brief details has been sent to Denpasar. The Bali Nine's so-called ringleaders - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran along with Scott Rush, one of the four couriers caught with heroin strapped to their bodies - have also been sentenced to death but have yet to lodge judicial reviews. |
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| Acer | Saturday Jun 28 2008, 09:25 PM Post #2 |
T0rp3d0Z Master
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Interesting. Some news that is. Whoa! |
"Battle it out for the consoles! They're the future of our lives. Gaming consoles, each sold separately." -Acer -Click On The Signature For My L33test Forums! | |
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1:59 PM Nov 26
