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Bali 9 - Verdicts
Not all verdicts have come in, they began yesterday, below is the latest info l have . . .
THE Bali Nine's "godfather" Andrew Chan was today condemned to death by firing squad for trying to smuggle heroin from Indonesia to Australia.
The Denpasar District Court erupted with shouts from the public gallery as its three-judge panel announced its verdict of "hukuman mati" or death penalty. Chan appeared to take the news of his fate calmly as he sat beside a court translator.
He shook hands with his lawyers briefly before being led out by police from the packed courtroom and through a scrum of reporters and cameramen.
Chan is the first of the Bali Nine to receive the death penalty.
Prosecutors had called for his execution, saying he had been the ringleader of an international drug operation.
The trial's Chief Judge Arief Supartman read a handwritten judgment from the bench, saying Chan had been proven guilty of "exporting heroin in an organised ring and possessing a prohibited class one narcotic".
He said Chan had "damaged Bali's international reputation".
He also castigated Chan for not co-operating with Indonesian authorities and for refusing to answer questions during his trial.
"The defendant did not show any remorse during his trial and was evasive.
"There are no grounds for leniency."
Immediately after the verdict was pronounced uproar erupted with a group of anti-drugs campaigners cheering in the courtroom.
"Well done chief judge," said some, while others shouted out "Death!"
Chan was later locked in a holding cell at the rear of the court where he was seen smiling and smoking a cigarette as he talked through the bars with his brother Michael.
Minutes after Chan's verdict came down, another panel of judges convened to announced their verdict against Myuran Sukumaran, who is also expected to be condemned to death.
Prosecutors have said that Sukumaran had been Chan's right-hand man.
Earlier Bali Nine drug mule Michael Czugaj was sentenced to life in prison.
A three-judge panel in the Denpasar District Court took less than an hour to read out its judgment and convict the 20-year-old Brisbane man of trying to smuggle heroin from Bali to Australia on April 17 last year.
They said he had been found convincingly guilty of the primary charge of smuggling.
Czugaj sat with a passive expression on his face as the verdict and sentence was read out, holding hands with his estranged parents, Stephan and Vicki.
He was then rushed to a holding cell at the rear of the court where he put on dark sunglasses and then tried to hug his mother through the cell bars.
Czugaj was arrested at Bali airport with 1.75kg of heroin strapped to his body in three bags.
The sentence against Czugaj was in line with the demands of Indonesian prosecutors.
Yesterday, fellow mules Renae Lawrence and Scott Rush were also jailed for life.
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*yawn*
Drug dealers going to jail or getting the death penalty, in the words of the famous marmite 'fair enough'.
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But hang on guys.............one of them might be a 'beauty therapist'!!!!!!
Remember a decade or so back, some Brit girl was arrested in Bangers and she skipped bail and ended up back at home. Daughter of some polly or something.
Proof!
Aussies are stupid!
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A friend of mine got caught for trafficing, faced a 10 year prison sentence, got out on bail and sneaked off to Burma, the embassy there refused to give him a passport, sneaked back into Thailand and then made his way down to Malaysia and got a passport there and off back to blighty he went :) obviously he doesn't come here for holidays anymore :(
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