Australian drug smuggler Scott Rush Spared Death Penalty in Indonesia: Lawyer

'Bali 9' Scott Rush

Australian drug smuggler Scott Rush, one of a gang known as the Bali Nine, has won an appeal against his death sentence in Indonesia, his lawyer said on Tuesday.

“His judicial review has been accepted by the Supreme Court. His death penalty has been annulled and the sentence has been changed to life,” Frans Hendra Winata said.

“The reason is because he is still young, he expressed remorse and he has never been convicted of any other crime. And most especially, he was just a courier and not the mastermind.”

The 24-year-old was convicted and ultimately sentenced to death for his role in an attempt to smuggle some eight kilograms of heroin into Australia from the Indonesian resort island of Bali in 2005.

The two alleged ringleaders of the Bali Nine gang, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, are also seeking to have their death sentences reduced to life.

A spokesman for the Indonesian Supreme Court was unable to confirm that Rush’s appeal had been successful.

“I don’t know yet about that,” spokesman Djoko Sarwoko said.

Source: Agence France-Presse, May 10, 2011

Bali Nine member Scott Rush 'spared execution' in Indonesia

Scott Rush (center)

Rush, 24, had been facing execution for his part in a 2005 plot to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.

But the Indonesian Supreme Court, which published the decision today, instead commuted his sentence to life, citing the fact that Rush had shown remorse for his actions while also taking into account his age.

His father Lee Rush said the family would continue fighting to free their son.

"It's a great relief, it's been a long time coming," he told reporters in Bali.

"The sentence was far too harsh from the beginning for the crime that he committed.

"We had hoped we could get a lighter sentence.

"We must continue to get Scott and the other Australians back home where they belong."

The court also cited the fact that he was only a courier, and not considered a ringleader of the group.

Rush, from Brisbane, was only 19 and on his first trip to Bali when he was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport with 1.3kg of heroin strapped to his legs underneath his clothing.

The so-called ringleaders of the Bali Nine - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - are also waiting for the outcome of judicial reviews in the hope they will escape the firing squad.

If their appeals fail, they must also rely on President Yudhoyono granting them clemency.

Rush now joins a number of other members of the drug smuggling plot who are also serving life sentences in Bali's Kerobokan Prison, including Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Than Nguyen and Michael Czugaj.

Stephens had his final appeal against a life sentence rejected in January.

The final member of the drug ring, Renae Lawrence, is serving a 20-year sentence, which has already been reduced by almost two years.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Australians would greet the decision with relief.

"The Australian Government welcomes this decision by the Supreme Court," he told Parliament.

The Federal Government remains in close touch with Rush's parents, who had been informed of the decision.

Mr Rudd said Rush's parents had shouldered a heavy burden, with years of waiting for the decision.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said Rush was a young man, aged 19, when he was caught trafficking drugs and had a somewhat troubled past.

If there was ever a lesson for people to understand they must abide by the laws of other countries, Rush's was one, she said.

"This young man has learned a very, very harsh lesson," Ms Bishop told Parliament.

Source: Herald Sun, May 10, 2011

Scott Rush told life sentence is final

Bali Nine drug mule Scott Rush has been told the decision to commute his death sentence to life in prison is final.

Rush's Bali-based lawyer, Robert Khuana, said he had asked prison authorities to pass on the news to Rush that Indonesia's Supreme Court had granted his final appeal, sparing him from execution.

"I have asked the prison officers to tell Scott of the decision," Mr Khuana told AAP on Wednesday.

However, Mr Khuana wanted Rush to know the decision was final.

Mr Khuana will visit Rush in person at Kerobokan Prison on Thursday to discuss the decision in more detail.

Rush, 25, from Brisbane, had been facing the death penalty for his part in a 2005 plot to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali into Australia.

However, the Supreme Court on Tuesday revealed it had granted his final appeal, known as judicial review, and had commuted his sentence to life in prison.

While the result was not as good as the 15 years sought by Rush's lawyers, the decision did bring relief to his family, with his father Lee Rush saying it had been: "A long time coming."

It also comes after an earlier appeal delivered a much more shocking result.

Rush, the youngest of nine Australians convicted over the drug-smuggling conspiracy, was given life in prison when initially convicted, but had his sentence increased to death at his first appeal.

The panel of judges that presided over that decision were the same three that reversed it on Tuesday, sparing Rush's life.

While the written decision is not yet available in full, it is understood the decision was 2-1 in favour of reducing his sentence, with the judges citing the fact that Rush had shown remorse for his actions, and was only a minor player in the drug-smuggling plot.

His age was also taken into account.

Rush was only 19, and on his first overseas trip, when he was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport with 1.3kg of heroin strapped to his legs and body underneath his clothing.

Rush's supporters expressed relief on Wednesday, however like Lee Rush they had been hoping for a lighter sentence.

Father Tim Harris, the family's former parish priest, said the decision to spare Rush's life was wonderful but also heartbreaking.

"It's sort of bittersweet, isn't it, where there's great news about Scott's situation on the one hand but ongoing pain continues by virtue of the fact that Scott continues to serve a life sentence." he told the ABC.

But the reaction from the man who tipped off the Australian Federal Police (AFP) about the Bali Nine plot showed there remains anger towards the role Australian authorities played in the saga.

Family friend and barrister Bob Myers tipped off the AFP weeks before the Bali Nine were arrested in Indonesia, in a bid to stop the smugglers before they committed the crimes.

He said the government was doing all it could to "right the wrong" of the past but he could not forgive the federal police for their role in the incident.

"These nine young Australians all faced the death penalty because of the actions of the federal police," Mr Myers told ABC radio on Wednesday.

"It was the federal police that really had these nine people incarcerated in the first place, so I'll never forgive them for that."

It is believed the Supreme Court carefully considered the testimony of former AFP commissioner Mick Keelty in deciding to grant Rush's judicial appeal.

Mr Keelty, who was also a lead player in the AFP investigation that led to the Bali Nine arrests, told the Supreme Court at Rush's final appeal that he was the lowest ranking among the members of the syndicate.

Source: AAP, May 11, 2011
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