Yesterday, the most extraordinary news broke about Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran’s trial, but somehow it got buried among the morbid countdown to their likely death.
Earlier allegations about bribery and political interference in the original Bali Nine sentencing were widely picked up by the media after they broke yesterday morning.
But this story by Fairfax reporter Tom Allard got lost in the afternoon rush. It should have been front-page news this morning.
Allard’s central finding? That the current Indonesian Attorney-General, H.M Prasetyo, was a senior figure in the AG’s department when that very office allegedly demanded that a panel of judges hand down the death penalty to Chan and Sukumaran.
That is to say: Indonesia’s most senior legal officer potentially has a deeply concerning interest in the outcome of the Indonesian judicial commission’s ongoing investigation into these claims.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Prasetyo has decided that Chan and Sukumaran must die before the commission brings down its findings.
As Allard writes:
“Prasetyo has … said that the executions should take place before Indonesia’s judicial commission — which examines claims of judicial wrongdoing — completes its investigation into the claims. He says the investigation is irrelevant.”
In summary, two Australian citizens were allegedly handed the death penalty by a corrupt system as a result of political interference, but the claims will not be fully investigated before the men are shot dead by the very government that is implicated in these claims.
This is no longer a request for mercy or a debate about the death penalty. The Australian government must make clear to Indonesia that there will be the most far-reaching repercussions if these very serious claims are not investigated and if the executions go ahead as planned. There is still time.
As if this government would care. They know nothing of compassion, empathy or fairness, let alone how to behave on the world stage. The murder will happen and the AFP and government along with the Indonesian government will have blood on their hands.
We need the same treatment for Drug Dealers here!
Nice one, BALONEY, intelligent unput always welcome. Must try harder.
Maloney – you mean stitch up their sentences then make sure they’re executed before the sh!t hits the fan?
Am I missing something here? The penalty for drug trafficking is death in Indonesia. They were found guilty in a court of law and all appeals failed. They were executed.
Sukamarin and Chan were well aware of the death penalty for drug trafficking in Indonesia and would have been paid handsomely for accepting that risk. They gambled and lost.
I’m of the belief that these two drug runners would have had their sentences commuted, as has been done in the past, if the government had kept quiet and had made purely private appeals to the Indonesian government as part of their job as representatives of these Australians. The Indonesian government cannot be seen to buckle under the pressure from Australia or any foreign former colonial government. As in Australia, no politician can be seen to be “soft on drugs”.
If Australia really wants to do something about this then they should do something to reduce the hypocrisy involving illegal drug use and sale.
For the record I’m against the death penalty for a number of reasons that have nothing at all to do with compassion or barbarity. I’m also a supporter of drug legalisation and regulation.