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Prosecutors Say Death a Fair Sentence for Bali Nine Member
Made Arya Kencana | September 28, 2010

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fanelli
12:11pm Sep 28, 2010

Hmm... didn't I just read that back on Java they are urging early release for unrepentant participants in the Bali bombings that killed over 200 people? I wonder if that will affect international tourism to Bali...

Indonesia - so clueless as a country it's painful to watch!

peterR
6:43am Sep 28, 2010

mauriceg - have to agree completely. The prosecutors are going on about Bali's reputation, but a death sentence for an Australian would do so much harm to Bali and taint it for many tourists. And yes of course, this is unbelievable hypocrisy. Indonesia's biggest problem and the one that cripples the country and brings so much harm and misery to its people, corruption, goes virtually unpunished, and the perpetrators are protected by the same very flawed justice system.

mauriceg
1:20am Sep 28, 2010

Drug smuggling is serious, of that there is no doubt. One does have to wonder though about Indonesian justice. An Australian is on death row for drug smuggling and hundreds of officials and politicians commit acts of treachery against their homeland and fellow Indonesian, but get light sentences in plush prisons, usually with generous parole. It stinks, and the prosecutors are part of the problem, not the solution. Why can't we hear people complaining about this? Are they so brain-washed and conformist they think it's acceptable. Who will help end this, as it won't go away by itself?

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Denpasar. Prosecutors said on Monday that Australian Scott Anthony Rush did not deserve leniency after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle 8.2 kilograms of heroin out of Bali in 2005.

In an appeal hearing, prosecutors dismissed arguments by the Australian Federal Police that Rush played a minor role in the smuggling attempt and did not deserve to be sentenced to death.

“No matter how small the role of the convict, it supported the success of the syndicate, so the capacity is the same,” said prosecutor Purwanti Murtiasih.

He added that drug smuggling was a serious threat to the island’s image as a tourist destination and harsh punishments in drug cases would deter future offenses.

Rush was a member of the so-called Bali Nine caught attempting to smuggle heroin from Bali to Australia in 2005. His was originally sentenced to life in prison, but received the death penalty after appealing to a higher court.

Mick Keelty, a former Australian Federal Police commissioner, and Mike Phelan, the AFP’s current deputy commissioner, appeared on Rush’s behalf at the Bali court earlier this month.

Keelty said Rush was not a leader of the plot and did not deserve the death sentence.

Phelan noted that it was Rush’s first drug offense and he would have faced “less than 10 years” if convicted in Australia, which does not have the death penalty.

Prosecutors also rejected the argument of Rush’s lawyer that the death penalty had been abolished in many countries.

Purwanti said that as long as Indonesia still had capital punishment, prosecutors would seek it for major cases.

“As to the idea that the death sentence should be applied selectively to certain cases, we believe the convict’s violation meets the requirements for the death sentence because he was proven to have smuggled drugs in an organized way that is considered an intercountry crime,” he said.

The court is scheduled to decide on Oct. 4 whether Rush’s death sentence will be reviewed.


Additional reporting from AFP