Bali Nine Death Penalties Confirmed
September 6th 2006 06:08
In April 2005, 9 Aussies were arrested in Denpasar, Bali for attempting to smuggle approximately $4 million worth of heroin into Australia. Until recently, two of them were facing the death penalty. These were the so-called “ringleaders” of the operation, 25-year-old Myuran Sukumaran and 22-year-old Andrew Chan. The others were initially all sentenced to life imprisonment for drug trafficking. But today everything has changed.
It has now been confirmed that four more members of the Bali Nine will face death by firing squad. How did this happen?
It seems that after Matthew Norman, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Si Yi Chen won their appeals to reduce their life sentences to 20 years in prison, prosecutors were not happy. They appealed the new decision wanting the life terms re-instated. But instead the Indonesian Supreme Court decided on the death penalty.
Similarly, when Scott Rush appealed to the court, he hoped that his life sentence would be reduced by a couple of years. But, his hopes seem to have backfired as the Indonesian Supreme Court again decided on the death penalty.
Chief Judge, Iskandar Kamil was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald to have made the following comment to AAP:
This narcotics problem is a very heavy criminal act and is very dangerous for the people and the country, not only Indonesia, but also other countries.
And although most of us, if not all of us, would wholeheartedly agree with such a statement, for many Aussies, the sentences handed down are unjust and excessive.
What do you think?
It has now been confirmed that four more members of the Bali Nine will face death by firing squad. How did this happen?
It seems that after Matthew Norman, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Si Yi Chen won their appeals to reduce their life sentences to 20 years in prison, prosecutors were not happy. They appealed the new decision wanting the life terms re-instated. But instead the Indonesian Supreme Court decided on the death penalty.
Similarly, when Scott Rush appealed to the court, he hoped that his life sentence would be reduced by a couple of years. But, his hopes seem to have backfired as the Indonesian Supreme Court again decided on the death penalty.
Chief Judge, Iskandar Kamil was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald to have made the following comment to AAP:
This narcotics problem is a very heavy criminal act and is very dangerous for the people and the country, not only Indonesia, but also other countries.
And although most of us, if not all of us, would wholeheartedly agree with such a statement, for many Aussies, the sentences handed down are unjust and excessive.
What do you think?
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