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| The Bali Nine waiting to appear in court at their original trial |
LAWYERS for the two Bali Nine on death row have alleged, in sensational new claims, that the six judges who gave them the death penalty offered a lighter sentence in exchange for a bribe.
But apparently the lawyers had no money with which to bargain.
The allegation is contained in a letter which lawyers for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have sent to Indonesia’s Judicial Commission, calling for an investigation.
The claim comes from the men’s original trial lawyer, who represented them when they got the death penalty in the Denpasar District Court, who has offered up the evidence regardless of whether it discredits him.
It follows a surprise visit by the lawyer, Muhammad Rifan, to Chan and Sukumaran in jail last weekend, where he told the two men he was prepared to help them in their fight to beat the firing squad.
“Muhammad Rifan said that the judges were pressured from certain parties to give the death sentence, and the judges had also conveyed to Muhammad Rifan that they were willing to give a lighter sentence than death sentence to his client if they were given some money,” the letter from the men’s lawyers says.
he letter was sent to the Judicial Commission on Friday afternoon. It names the six judges involved in the two cases. A panel of three judges in the Denpasar District Court heard each case.
The letter alleges that the judges violated the judicial code of conduct.
One of the judges, Roro Suroywati, has told News Corp Australia that she never wanted to give Sukumaran the death penalty but was over ruled by the other two judges on the case.
The lawyers now plan to seek a meeting with the Indonesian Attorney General in Jakarta on Monday morning.
Source: Herald Sun, February 15, 2015
Abbott Warns Indonesia of Tough Response to Executions
'We will certainly be finding ways to make our displeasure felt'
Sydney. Millions of Australians are “sickened” by the imminent execution of two of its citizens by Indonesia, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Sunday, warning of a tough diplomatic response.
His comments came as the families of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran made emotional last-gasp pleas to Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
“I beg him [Joko] again and again to please forgive them and give them, both of them, a second chance,” Sukumaran’s tearful grandmother Edith Visvanathan told reporters.
A statement from the Chan family said Andrew Chan “continues to pray.”
“While there is life, there is hope. Let them live,” it said.
No date has been set for their killing, but Indonesia has said governments with citizens on death row have been invited to talks at the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Monday.
Chan, 31, and Sukumaran, 33, are facing execution by firing squad as early as this week as ring leaders of the so-called Bali Nine group trafficking heroin from Indonesia’s island of Bali into Australia.
While all hope appears to be lost, Abbott put pressure on Jakarta for the second day in a row.
“Millions of Australians are feeling sickened by what might be about to happen in Indonesia,” he told Channel Ten. “If these executions go ahead, and I hope they don’t, we will certainly be finding ways to make our displeasure felt.”
Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors in protest at executions of their citizens in January. Abbott has not said what Canberra’s response would be.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop last week warned Jakarta that Australians could boycott Indonesia, including the island of Bali, a popular holiday spot for its travelers.
Abbott also stepped up criticism of Indonesia for trying to save its own citizens on death row in other countries for drug trafficking while rejecting pleas from Australia.
“What we are asking of Indonesia is what Indonesia asks of other countries when its citizens are on death row,” he said. “If it’s right for Indonesia to ask and expect some kind of clemency, it’s surely right for us to ask and expect some kind of clemency.”
There are 360 Indonesians on death row around the world, including in Malaysia, Singapore, China and Saudi Arabia, Australian media reported. Of that, 230 are on drug charges.
As time runs out for Chan and Sukumaran, attorneys-general from across each of Australia’s states and territory have sent a joint letter to Indonesia’s government asking they be spared, broadcaster ABC reported.
Their families were presented on Sunday with a petition signed by more than 150,000 people urging clemency.
Chan and Sukumaran, who have been on death row since 2006, claim they have been rehabilitated but lost their appeals to Joko, who has vowed a tough approach to ending what he has called Indonesia’s “drug emergency.”
Joko has been a vocal supporter of capital punishment and recently executed six convicted drug smugglers.
Source: Agence France-Presse, Feb. 15, 2015
