Bali Nine pair Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran plead to live

Myuran Sukumaran (left)
Andrew Chan (right)

BALI Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran (left) will appear in court as their final appeals against the death penalty begin.

It is expected the pair will tell judges of their regret and their rehabilitation since being jailed five years ago and of their determination to now turn their lives around.

Their judicial review comes as fellow Bali Nine member Scott Rush's appeal continues, after Australian Federal Police chiefs last week gave evidence on his behalf.

While Rush was a courier, caught with the drugs strapped to him, both Chan and Sukumaran have been described as the ringleaders and organisers.

Their judicial review is based more on human rights grounds. Both claim legal errors in the original judgments, and are also relying on their rehabilitation in Kerobokan jail to help them persuade judges to let them live.

In the past year they have set up programs for their fellow prisoners, including English, computer, graphics and art classes.

The jail's governor, Siswanto, has agreed to give evidence on their behalf.

For the first time since their arrest, both men are admitting their guilt and their roles in the heroin trafficking ring. Previously, both had refused to admit any role - which they say was based on bad legal advice after their arrests and in their trials.

Psychiatric reports on both, by Prof Paul Mullen, form part of the appeal documents lodged with Denpasar District Court.

Of Chan, Prof Mullen writes that he had been abusing cannabis since his teens and that since being in jail he has been drug-free for the first time since he was 16.

It also tells of Chan's religious conversion. He is now studying theology inside jail and helps to run a church service for inmates.

Prof Mullen's report about Sukumaran tells of a "disturbed and disrupted early childhood" and of his exposure, for the first time in jail, to the evil effects of drugs.

"He has been brought into contact, as never before, with the addicts and their families whose lives have been ruined. He described considerable remorse and continuing feelings of guilt about his offending and involvement in drug smuggling," he said.

The appeal documents argue that the death penalty should be used only for the most serious of crimes, and submits that drugs are not among these.

It is expected that four witnesses will be called as the hearing progresses, including the jail boss and Prof Mullen.

Source: HeraldSun.com.au, September 21, 2010

'Bali Nine' ring leaders make final appeal

The two leaders of an Australian drug running group known as the Bali Nine have appeared in an Indonesian court during the first hearing into their final appeal against the death penalty.

Lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have asked for the pair's sentences to be reduced to 20 years in prison.

Sukumaran told Denpasar District Court that he regretted his involvement in the heroin-smuggling ring.

"I can't say how deep my feelings are about my actions in the past. I know I have to change the direction of my life," he said.

Their lawyers will argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional.

Source: Australia Network News, September 21, 2010

Chan and Sukumaran beg for their lives

Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have begged an Indonesian court for forgiveness and a second chance at life.

As part of their final appeal against their death sentences the Sydney men on Tuesday told the Denpasar District Court of their deep remorse for their roles in a 2005 attempt to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.

Speaking in Indonesian as a mark of respect to the court, they told the panel of three judges they had changed their ways and wanted the chance to be useful members of society.

Sukumaran, 29, said he was "truly, deeply sorry" for his actions and was now trying to lead a generous life, not a selfish one.

"I now realise that before I was arrested I was thoughtless and ignorant," he said.

"Before I was arrested I had no idea how harmful my drug crime would be.

"I did not think about the impact, I did not know any drug addicts and I never thought seriously about the consequences of my actions.

"From the bottom of my heart I can honestly say I am now a different person and a reformed person."

Chan and Sukumaran have both been running education courses for fellow inmates inside Bali's Kerobokan Prison as part of their efforts to rehabilitate.

Chan, 26, said he knew he couldn't change the "stupid things" he did in the past.

"But I have genuinely changed my behaviour and I really want to focus on what I can do now and in the future," he said.

Chan, who has also been studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Theology while in prison, said he hoped to become a minister or a counsellor so he could help others avoid his mistakes.

"I accept that I deserve to be punished for my crime but I beg the court that I not be executed," he said.

"I hope I am given another chance in life."

Both men apologised for previously pleading not guilty, blaming bad advice from their previous legal team. They also apologised for their behaviour at earlier court appearances, conceding they did not show appropriate respect.

Chan and Sukumaran were two of nine Australians convicted over the drug smuggling plot. This final appeal, known as a judicial review, seeks to have their death sentences reduced to 20 years jail.

The appeal rests in large part on evidence that the men have been successfully rehabilitated and are now role models inside prison.

It also argues previous rulings against them erred by finding them guilty of exporting drugs, even though they were caught before exportation actually occurred.

The appeal also argues that earlier decisions were also in error because they contravened international laws, adopted by Indonesia, that reject the use of the death penalty against narcotics criminals.

If the appeal fails they will be left with just one last unlikely chance for survival: clemency from staunch anti-drugs President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Fellow Bali Nine death row inmate Scott Rush also has a judicial review before the courts.

Five other members of the drug smuggling plot - Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Than Nguyen - are serving life sentences. Stephens' judicial review is currently being considered by Indonesia's Supreme Court.

The final member of the drug ring, courier Renae Lawrence, is serving a 20-year sentence.

Chan and Sukumaran's appeal will return to court on October 8.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, September 21, 2010

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