INDONESIA: Australian Scott Rush, of a group known as Bali Nine, appears at his first appeal hearing regarding a death sentence for drug smuggling

Record ID: 641105

  • Title: INDONESIA: Australian Scott Rush, of a group known as Bali Nine, appears at his first appeal hearing regarding a death sentence for drug smuggling
  • Date: 27th August 2010
  • Summary: DENPASAR, BALI (AUGUST 26, 2010) (REUTERS) ***CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SCOTT RUSH ENTERS COURT ROOM JUDGE PUTU SUWIKA OPENS COURT SESSION PROSECUTOR AUDIENCE RUSH'S LEGAL LAWYER HANDING OVER DOCUMENT RUSH READING OUT HIS APPEAL HEAD OF JUDGE SUWIKA RUSH'S PARENTS SIT IN AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) LAWYER, FRANS HENDRA WINATA, SAYING: "With this new evidence we hope the death sentence can be reduced 20 or 15, even 12 years jail term." DENPASAR COURT SIGN READING "DENPASAR DISTRICT COURT, BALI"
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Indonesia
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Reuters ID: LVAEPWUI9760244CEWN709GO4C7Z
  • Story Text: An Australian sentenced to death for drug smuggling in Indonesia made his first court appearance Thursday (August 26).
    Scott Rush and his lawyers appeared before a judge to appeal a death sentence lodged against Rush and eight others known as the Bali Nine for smuggling drugs into Indonesia's Bali island.
    Rush, 24, and the other Bali Nine were arrested in April 2005 in Bali with 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin strapped to their bodies, worth 3.5 million U.S. dollars (USD). Rush and ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death in 2006.
    Rush's lawyer, Frans Hendra Winata, pleaded to the appellate court to reduce his sentence 15 to 20 years.
    Winata said Australian Federal Police (AFP) regarded Rush as a courier and not one of the masterminds of the crime.
    "With this new evidence we hope the death sentence can be reduced 20 or 15, even 12 years jail term," said Rush's lawyer Frans Hendra Winata.
    Winata filed a statement from former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty, who took part in the Bali Nine investigation, with three judges at Denpasar District Court.
    Winata said that document was never presented at the previous trial.
    In Indonesian appellate courts, defendants are required to present new evidence or illustrate legal errors in previous convictions. Rush's parents along with his Australian lawyer and Australia consulate-general in Bali were in court to offer their support.
    Australian governments have, since the Bali Nine arrests, been trying to ensure the death penalty is not carried out.
    Any approach for clemency would be a sensitive issue for both countries, with some Indonesian lawmakers and local media likely to see any approach by Australia as interference.
    If the final appeal, known in Indonesia as 'judicial review', is rejected, the only remaining alternative for Rush is a direct plea for clemency to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
    During his six years in office, Yudhoyono has shown no mercy to drug smugglers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register