Bali Nine: Scott Rush's day in court postponed

BALI Nine drug courier Scott Rush (left) had hoped to plead for his life yesterday; in the event he didn't leave Kerobokan prison

First the prison governor refused to allow 24-year-old Rush to be transported from the prison to Denpasar District Court for a judicial review of his death sentence because the authorisation for his transfer was wrongly processed.

Then, watched by Lee and Christine Rush who had flown from Australia to support their son, prosecutor I.B. Chandra moved to have the review proceedings annulled because they were based on incorrect legal grounds, "a fatal mistake".

After an adjournment, the panel of three judges decided the order for the judicial review was correctly framed.

The hearing was postponed until next Thursday.

Beforehand, Rush's advocate Frans Winarta said he hoped the judges would allow Rush to make a statement, explaining in his own words his contrition, rehabilitation during five years' imprisonment and hopes to campaign against drug trafficking in future.

The defence will also ask the panel to allow former Australian Federal Police commissioner Mick Keelty and deputy commissioner Michael Phelan, who headed the Bali Nine investigation in Australia, to appear as witnesses. Mr Keelty and Mr Phelan have already given statements that there is no evidence Rush was involved in the organisation of the heroin plot or knew of its scale.

Rush was 19 when arrested at Bali's international airport in April 2005 with more than 1kg of heroin strapped to his body.

The nine were convicted the following year of plotting to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin into Australia.

Rush was given life imprisonment but was unexpectedly sentenced to death by the Indonesian Supreme Court after hearing his appeal for reduction of his term.

His lawyers are now asking for a 15-year term, though Mr Winarta said they would accept a restitution of the original sentence.

"Our target here is to save his life," said Mr Winarta. "His life is very precious to us and as a civilised nation (Indonesia) should not adopt the death penalty."

Source: The Australian, August 19, 2010