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HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EACH PERSON REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, RELIGION OR POLITICS
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Matthew Norman Campaign Information
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Name: Matthew James Norman
Born: 17 September 1986
Nationality: Australian
Sentence: Life Sentence
Offence: Arrested at the Melasti Bungalows on Bali's Kuta Beach in a room with a suitcase containing 350 grams of heroin that had been linked, through forensic testing, to the 8.2 kg of heroin found on fellow Australians also arrested [so named the Bali 9].
Case update: Confirmed by Australian Government that he has lost his appeal and the court has increased his sentence to the Death Penalty. [Death by firing squad]
Letters and care packages can be sent:
LPM Kerobokan
Matthew Norman [Australian]
Death Row Tower
Jl. Tangkuban Perahu
Kerobokan, Denpasar 80117
Bali, INDONESIA
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Important Notice |
Please be advised that those people sending letters to Kay Danes at Kerobokan Prison should discontinue because she is NOT a prisoner. Rather, Kay Danes is a Prisoner advocate based in Australia. Please do not address any more mail to Kay Danes at Kerobokan Prison, Bali. If you would like to write to her this is the address:
Kay Danes
PO Box 391
Capalaba QLD 4157
Australia
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About Matthew Norman
I graduated in year 10 and have always liked to play sports, particularly Rugby League and Union which I played for my school and for my local club. I don't like rice. I like all music and enjoy reading books by Tom Clancy. I have two sisters, a twin and an older one. When I was young my parents got divorced. My current situation has affected my family a lot, the way people look at them. A positive thing is that now I have a better relationship with my whole family which I never thought would happen.
As a kid I use to play with matches a lot. I loved the look of fire and watching things burn. I got caught by my dad once and he took me to the fire department so I could see what fires do to people's houses by playing with matches. I thought it was great. I wanted to become a fire fighter.
My heroes in my childhood were the 'Power Rangers.' I am a dedicated Christian. I attend church all the time here, almost every day.
The reason why I think I have led this path is because of certain factors that happened in my life. Yes I feel remorseful. This has affected my family in circumstances not many could comprehend. I have learned a lot about myself in here too. I realise that my actions don't just affect me. I hope that people back home don't judge me too harshly. I get a few visits from people I don't know. They just want to drop in and say hello and see how I'm going. I'm currently getting my life back on track and studying for my HSC [High School Certificate] which I never completed. I hope to write a book in the future to help young youths to think about their actions before they make them. Every body makes mistakes and we can learn from them and change our ways. Doing something for quick money isn't worth it. You can't put a price on your life.
I share my cell with an American and an Algerian. It's comfortable enough for three of us. We have a cell with a squat type toilet and a large tub that I stand in and pour buckets of cold water over myself. It's so hot. I sleep on a small mattress on a bunk bed. It's not the best but I'm trying to make the most of it. My daily routine is church in the mornings, sport in the afternoons, and reading and studying of a night time. As for the guards here, they try their best to help us in whatever way, but it's hard because we don't speak full Indonesian yet. I get consular support from the Australian Embassy but there isn't much they can do for me.
If people want to write to me or send care packages, they can forward these to me at the prison. I will try to write back to all the letters I receive. If they want to send me money for food then they can contact Kay Danes at the Foreign Prisoner Support Service for more information on how to do that. I would appreciate any support that people give me.
I can't believe my family have stuck with me through this situation. I don't know what I'd do without them. The two things I miss most are my family and watching the football. Please pray for me.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has thought about me and what I am going through. Thank you also to Kay Danes and the Foreign Prisoners Support Service for your ongoing assistance and this campaign page.
Matthew James Norman
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PRISONER APPEAL
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Matthew Norman
LPM Kerobokan
Death Row Tower
Jl. Tangkuban Perahu
Kerobokan, Denpasar 80117
Bali, INDONESIA
20 June 2007
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Matthew James Norman and I was born on the 17th of September 1986 in Brisbane, Australia. I am currently 21 years old and detained on death row in the Republic of Indonesia. I am writing to personally express my deep remorse for my actions that were wrong and violated the laws of Indonesia. I wish to appeal for mercy.
I was arrested by Indonesian authorities on 17 April 2005 at the Melasti Bungalows on Bali's Kuta Beach in a room with a suitcase containing 350 grams of heroin. I was taken to the court on 15 February 2006 and was given a life sentence which was reduced on appeal to 20 years. On 06 September 2006 however, my sentence was upgraded to the death penalty.
I fully accept the Indonesian authorities have every right to punish me because I broke the law and in doing so, I have brought shame on my country, my family and upon myself.
Since I have been on death row, I have learned a great deal about myself. I realise now that my actions don't just affect me. I realise that I was foolish and did not really think about the consequences that I would face. Admittedly, I was stupid to believe that I wouldn't get caught breaking the law but at the time, I was at a point in my life where I didn't care too much about myself or anything else. I must however, take responsibility for my actions but I hope that the Indonesian authorities will give me a second chance to prove that I can turn my life around.
I want to thank the Indonesian Prison Guards at Kerobokan for caring about me and helping me to become a better person. I have learned many things from them that I took for granted before, like my freedom and what I might have achieved in my life had I made different choices. Even if I am executed, I am still grateful that they treated me with human kindness.
I wish to ask, most respectfully that you accept this personal expression of profound remorse, and allow my life to be spared and that I might have an opportunity to one-day return to Australia where I can be closer to my family and where I can participate in rehabilitation programs to help me become a better person and an example to other young people, to deter them from making the same mistakes I've made. I am deeply, deeply sorry to the Indonesian people and hope that they might forgive me of my foolishness.
Respectfully,
Matthew James Norman [Aus]
LPM Kerobokan
Death Row Tower
Jl. Tangkuban Perahu
Kerobokan, Denpasar 80117
Bali, INDONESIA
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Urgent ACT NOW!
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We urge our fellow Australians to show compassion for the family of Matthew Norman
and to him as he endures this terrible ordeal. We ask you to lodge your concerns in
writing to Australian Government.
The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is a premeditated action of
a state killing another human being in the name of justice. It violates that persons
right to life as proclaimed in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. In opposing the
death penalty, it means no disrespect for the victims of violent crime and their relatives.
But there can never be any justification for torture or for cruel treatment of another human
being. The loneliest place on earth is when you are denied your freedom and your rights,
when you are beaten, tortured and at the end of despair and you wonder how another human
being could do such evil things to their fellow man. The after effects of these
situations impact on many, except perhaps those big drug syndicates that continue
to prey on the vulnerabilities of others.
The Australian Government http://www.australia.gov.au/
Please note: e-mail correspondence should include your postal address. Responses will not be made via e-mail.
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Update 10 April 2007
FPSS Support Continues for Australians detained on Death Row [Bali]
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Thank you to everyone who has offered support to the families of; and to the Australians currently on death row in Indonesia. We appreciate your concerns and would like to reaffirm our committment to this campaign. We are doing all that we can to generate positive support to the campaigns in the hope that the Indonesian Government will show some leniency to these young Australians. We hope that they might be spared the death sentence, and transferred back to an Australian prison where they would have access to appropriate levels of medical care, family support and proper rehabilitation.
Please find below a brief update on our main efforts...
1. FPSS are in contact with the Legal Representatives currently launching a Constitutional Challenge in Indonesia. We have taken advice from them in how best we can support those on death row and have pledged support to all future campaign strategies in accordance with their advice.
2. FPSS advocates are continuing to lobby Australian Government Members of parliament in Canberra to ensure the concerns of our members are known to the Australian Government.
3. FPSS letters of appeal have been sent to various Indonesian Government members. These have respectfully appealed for mercy on behalf of those on death row.
4. FPSS have continued to advise other lobby groups and human rights committees on the various ways of proceeding to ensure the integrity of the campaign is maintained.
5. FPSS advocates are in close and direct contact with the Australians on death row in Bali and are fully compliant with their wishes.
6. FPSS advocates are continuing to provide practical support where possible to the families and to the prisoners themselves. WE also advise visitors to our site on how they can support the Australians detained in Bali, how to write letters, how to send care packages, how to assist financially. We are pleased to hear that over the past twelve months, a large number of FPSS members have even travelled to Bali and made direct contact with the Australians and are continuing that support.
7. FPSS are maintaining good relations with various media groups interested in these cases and ensuring that the information provided to them is accurate, appropriate and condusive to the current legal strategies in place and requests by family/prisoners.
8. FPSS continue to maintain positive relations with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [DFAT] and Attorney General's Office in the interests of maintaining the appropriate level of integrity to this campaign effort. We are pleased to report that DFAT are working extensively to provide a high level of consular support. Feedback from some of the Australians who have written to us recently, is that they are very happy with the level of consular support provided to them, understanding the
difficulties of their situation.
Rest assured that FPSS are doing everything possible to support the Australians detained in Bali. FPSS do not condone drug trafficking or illegal actions of any persons. FPSS does not condone the use of the death penalty. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. It violates the right to life.
Click Here for the ForeignPrisoners.com Death Penalty Page
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Notice of information use from the detainee
The information contained on this website is not to be copied to any other sites
and/or used without permission of FPSS. This campaign page and the information
contained herein has been approved by the detainee with the expressed request
that the information only appear on the FPSS website and no other site. The reason
for this is to provide assurances that the information remains accurate and to protect
the integrity of the campaign, again at the request of the detainee. All material
herein in subject to copyright and any breech will result in the appropriate action.
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