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Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

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Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Dane avoids death penalty in Indonesia

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A 56-year-old Danish man who faced the death penalty for drug smuggling in Indonesia said he was “relieved” to only be given a 13-year prison sentence.

Anker Hansen from southern Jutland was detained in Indonesia on June 8th while carrying 1.48 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, worth an estimated 1.9 billion Indonesian rupiah (872,00 kroner, $159,000). 

On Monday, Hansen was sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison. 

“I’m okay with it because it is a bit less than what the prosecutor wanted,” Hansen told JydskeVestkysten. 

According to Hansen, the prosecutor pushed for an 18-year sentence. 

"I'm very relieved because it has been hard to go through all of this without knowing what would happen. It could have been the death penalty," Hansen added. 

In addition to the prison time, Hansen was ordered to pay a fine amounting to roughly five million Danish kroner. 

Hansen said he hopes to be able to serve his sentence in Denmark and a spokesperson for the Danish Foreign Ministry said they would try to help the 56-year-old serve his time on Danish soil.

“There is now time to appeal and once the judgement is final, one can request imprisonment in Denmark. That will happen in collaboration with the Justice Ministry,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ole Egberg Mikkelsen told JydskeVestkysten.

According to AFP, foreigners are regularly caught trying to smuggle drugs into Indonesia, many on the hard-partying resort island of Bali. Several foreigners are currently on death row in the country.

Source: The Lokal, January 13, 2015

Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com
Location: Indonesia
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