Australians sentenced to death for Bali drug trafficking
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Indonesian judges have sentenced two Australians to death for drug trafficking in Bali while four other Australian drug offenders were given life sentences. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, accused of being leaders of the drug smuggling ring, will face death by firing squad. Renae Lawrence, Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj and Martin Stephens were given life sentences. The Australian drug traffickers are part of the “Bali Nine.” They were arrested after a tip-off from Australian police who chose to inform Indonesian authorities instead of taking them into custody at home. The case has ignited intense debate in Australia where activists feel that Australian Federal Police were exposing the defendants to the death penalty by giving Indonesian police the tip-off. Is the Australian government taking a stricter view of Australian drug offenders overseas? Justin Teo posed this question to Dr Michael McKinley from the Australian National University in Canberra. MM: I don’t think that’s the case. I think what’s been happening, especially in particular to the “Bali Nine,” the Australian government through the Australian Federal Police cooperated in a particular way which gave the Indonesian authorities the ability to arrest the “Bali Nine.” That has met with quite a lot of criticism in Australia because many people and I won’t say they are the majority think that the people in question should have been arrested back or should have at least been intercepted in Australia. More : channelnewsasia.com |