Sept. 18
INDONESIA:
Prosecution seeks death penalty for all Bali 9
The prosecution will seek death sentences for every one of the Bali 9,
whose trials on heroin trafficking charges are set to begin in just over 2
weeks.
A key prosecutor, Putu Indriati, told The Sun-Herald the maximum penalty
would be demanded, even though only four of the nine were allegedly caught
with heroin strapped to their bodies at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport last
April.
"They all organised the export, they are all threatened with the death
penalty," said Mrs Indriati, who had previously demanded the death penalty
for Renae Lawrence alone.
Mrs Indriati said it would be up to the court to impose the punishment.
In April, Lawrence, Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj and Scott Rush were
allegedly caught with more than eight kilograms of heroin strapped to
their bodies in two-kilogram packs. Police also took Matthew Norman, Tach
Duc Thanh Nguyen and Si Yi Chen into custody at the Melasti Hotel with the
remainder of more than 10 kilograms of heroin, where Myuran Sukumaran was
also held. The alleged ringleader Andrew Chan, was arrested after boarding
a flight to Australia without any drugs.
Mrs Indriati said that everyone, including Chan, would also face a call
for the death penalty from prosecutors.
Lawyers for the Bali nine have said that they would try to convince the
courts to consider a charge of possessing drugs, rather than trafficking
them, resulting in a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
Mrs Indriati said prosecution briefs would be filed against the Bali nine
tomorrow, a process which is equated to charging under Australian law.
Under Indonesian law, the courts are required to set a trial date 2 weeks
after receiving the case, making October 3 the likely date of
commencement.
Requests for capital punishment will create problems for investigators,
who have been working closely with the Australian Federal Police.
Any co-operation that continues after the case goes to the courts will
have to receive ministerial approval. However, it is against Australian
law for the AFP to continue to help working on a case that could result in
the death penalty.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said: "It's enshrined in
the legislation that the Government would not be able to accede to any
request unless assurances have been state that the death penalty would not
apply."
(source: The Sun-Herald)
