Bali Nine appeal highlights inconsistencies in legal system

Three members of the Bali Nine heroin smuggling gang were represented in Denpasar District Court today for their final appeal. Matthew James Norman, 20, Thanh Duc Tan Nguyen, 24, and Si Yi Chen, 22, are appealing the death sentence that was imposed after being found guilty of smuggling 376 grams from Bali.

The 3 young Australians had originally been sentenced to 20 years in jail, but Indonesia’s Supreme Court changed that to death. The 3 were not allowed to attend today’s appeal because of security concerns. Their lawyer, Erwin Siregar has requested they appear in the final stages. Law professor Andy Hamzah argued the Supreme Court was wrong in upgrading the sentences of the 3 from 20 years to death, without any new evidence or proof of errors in the previous sentences. He also said they should of been charged with possession, as they were not yet attempting to leave the country, but rather caught in a hotel room.

I don’t know about the changes in sentencing, but the possession argument doesn’t fly with me. Anyone ever heard of ‘conspiracy’? Wouldn’t be that hard to prove the 3 guys planned to traffic drugs, they even admitted it, so forget about possession. The case is adjourned for 2 weeks and final decisions will be from the Indonesian Supreme Court.