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HUMAN RIGHTS FOR EACH PERSON REGARDLESS OF AGE, RACE, RELIGION OR POLITICS
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LATEST NEWS
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Three of Bali Nine to escape execution
FPSS Statement
06 March 2008
Family advocate expresses relief
The team at Foreignprisoners.com were absolutely thrilled to receive the news that the Indonesian authorities have overturned the death penalty of Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Nguyen.
This has been an emotional campaign for all of us involved in trying to save the lives of these three boys but there is still a very long way to go before they can reunite with their families back home in Australia.
It was easy for people to say 'shoot them because they knew what they were doing' - but these were just young boys who lost their way and whilst none of us condone their actions, we are so pleased that we were able to help manage a campaign that resulted in such a successful outcome.
Myself, Tony Fox and Martin Hodgson adopted an approach that was respectful to the Indonesian authorities and the judicial process of Indonesia. It was paramount to our campaign, after all, no one can deny that these boys broke the law. We just didn't want to see them executed for making the wrong choices in life.
Matthew, Si Yi and Tan will still spend a very long time in jail. They are not 'getting off' or evading what will still be a very difficult journey ahead but now there is some hope. Before this decision, we were facing a deadline to a firing squad. Now we are facing a timeline to rehabilitation. Now we have the time to help these boys find a new path and to use their lives in more meaningful ways.
Despite the fact that they have been given a life sentence, it doesn't mean that they will just sit idly by and wait for the minutes to pass. They can still provide a valuable contribution to life by setting an example for others to follow. We are so very grateful to the Indonesian Government and authorities for their compassion, consideration and mostly, for their willingness to give these boys a second chance. In due course, we are hoping that they will be given an opportunity to transfer home under the P
risoner Transfer Agreement that has yet to be finalised. We hoping that the agreement will include appropriate parole conditions but for now, we are simply relieved by the outcome of this decision.
Drug trafficking is a very serious business that destroys lives and whole communities. While there continues to be debate on whether or not the death penalty is a deterrent, I can only say that I am just grateful for small mercies and that these boys lives have been spared. Most people in their position don't get a second chance. Most people are put to death and their death is gruesome. It's never quick or painless and families are left with nothing but despair - for the rest of their lives.
Matthew, Si Yi and Tan Nguyen will now have an opportunity to tell young people to make better choices and to not follow the path they took. In their own words it just isn't worth the risk!
I am so happy for 'my boys' as I've called them ever since we began this journey together! I am so thankful to their Jakarta-based lawyer, Farhat Abbas for standing by them and believing that they were genuinely remorseful and deserving a second chance. As I said, we have a long way to go yet but now we have time!
Kay Danes
International Human Rights Advocate
Foreign Prisoner Support Service
www.foreignprisoners.com
FPSS DVD [with sound]
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Media Statement from Families
On behalf of the families of Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman and Tan Nguyen, we have been asked to thank the media most sincerely for their interest and appreciation to the overwhelming number of letters/emails of supporters that have flooded our volunteer service since the news broke this morning.
At this time the families request that the media respect their right to privacy. They will not be giving any media interviews but are in contact with their loved ones detained in Bali, and are relieved by the decision of the Indonesian authorities. They are indeed grateful to all those who have supported them throughout such a terrible ordeal but there is still a very long way to go before they are reunited with their loved ones back home in Australia. They hope that the other families throughout the world who have loved ones on death row will continue to endure, especially those whose loved ones are also detained in Bali.
FPSS advocates are not able to provide details or contact with families, at their request. We are happy to forward your correspondence to them however.
Media contact:
24 hr response
Martin Hodgson
martin.hodgson@foreignprisoners.com
Kay Danes
kaydanes@foreignprisoners.com
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Bali three spared death
Mark Forbes, Jakarta -
March 6, 2008
Spared: Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman, pictured in court last June, have had their death sentences commuted.
Photo: AP
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THE death sentences of three of the Bali nine have been reduced to life imprisonment by Indonesia's Supreme Court, giving hope to the three remaining Australians on death row.
The results of final appeals by Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen have not been formally announced, but court sources confirmed last night that judges had decided to spare their lives.
A spokesman for their legal team, Henri Sitanggang, also confirmed the news. He said he was delighted their lives had been spared, and that they would now move to seek a pardon from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
In their final appeal, all three confessed to their roles in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, but begged for forgiveness and a chance to reform. The court took into account their youth and the fact they were "not masterminds".
The court decision is a diplomatic fillip for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who indicated to President Yudhoyono during talks in December that Canberra would lobby hard for the Australians on death row to be spared.
The so-called "Melasti Three" were arrested on April 17, 2005 in a room at Bali's Melasti Hotel, where police found 350 grams of heroin in a suitcase.
Their arrests came on the same day that other members of the Bali nine were apprehended at Denpasar Airport with drugs strapped to their bodies.
Norman, Chen and Nguyen were originally sentenced to life in prison and a subsequent hearing reduced that to 20 years. But prosecutors appealed and their sentences were later upgraded to the death penalty.
Last night Mr Sitanggang said the trio should have been given shorter jail sentences as they were young and wanted to redeem themselves. "Of course I am happy because we have saved these peoples lives," Mr Sitanggang said.
"Our next program is to apply for the grace of the President."
He said that, in time, lawyers would seek remissions for the trio and he hoped they could be released within 10 years.
The appeal on behalf of Norman, Chen and Nguyen was based in part on the fact that prosecutors had never requested the death penalty for them.
The court's decision could prompt another of the heroin couriers, Scott Rush, and the alleged ringleaders of the importation plot, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, to lodge their final appeals to the Supreme Court to avoid the death penalty.
Instead of appealing first to the Supreme Court, Rush, Sukumaran and Chan made an unsuccessful Constitutional Court challenge, attempting to overturn Indonesia's death penalty.
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