 |
| Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran |
William Schabas on Friday told the Denpasar District Court he agreed drug trafficking was a serious offence that had to be punished, but not with the death penalty.
"In my opinion drugs crimes do not belong to the category of the most serious crimes," he said.
Prof Schabas, director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway, said the threat of prison was an effective deterrent against drugs crimes.
"There's no convincing evidence that the death penalty is a better deterrent than prison," he said.
But prosecutor I B Chandra insisted the death penalty should apply to "extraordinary" cases like the Bali Nine.
"In this case the crime was highly organised and transnational, so we believe the death sentences are appropriate," he said.
Chan, 26, and Sukumaran, 29, were two of nine Australians convicted over a 2005 attempt to smuggle about eight kilograms of heroin out of Bali.
Their new appeal, known as a judicial review, seeks to have their death sentences reduced to 20 years' prison.
It will return to court on November 19 for what is expected to be a final hearing before it is sent to Indonesia's Supreme Court for a verdict.
If the appeal fails the pair will be forced to seek clemency from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who generally takes a dim view of drug smugglers.
Fellow Bali Nine death row inmate Scott Rush's judicial review is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.
Five other members of the drug smuggling plot - Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Than Nguyen - are serving life sentences.
The final member of the drug ring, courier Renae Lawrence, is serving a 20-year sentence.
Source: AAP, November 5, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment