ID :
212777
Fri, 10/14/2011 - 14:32
Auther :

Corby, Bali Nine clemency bid suffers hit

SYDNEY (AAP) - Oct 13 - Indonesia's president remains steadfastly opposed to leniency for people convicted of drug offences, in a blow to Australians seeking clemency, including two of the Bali Nine on death row.
Despite having become personally involved in efforts to prevent the execution of a number of Indonesians convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia, it's understood President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has not softened his tough anti-drugs stance.
"He remains firm on the position that drugs are an evil crime because the damage it creates for society is so huge," a spokesman for the president told AAP on Friday.
Confirmation of the president's stance is a cruel blow to the clemency hopes of the Bali Nine's Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as well as Schapelle Corby.
"The government, the legal enforcement and law enforcement are all having similar objectives, positions and understanding that this is a crime, and we must make (the punishment) harsh, that the punishment is equal to the repercussion of the crimes committed," his spokesman said.
"There is no back-tracking on that position. It remains firm."
The comments come after Dr Yudhoyono sent two letters to the Saudi king, including one as recently as last week, in an attempt to stop the beheading of an Indonesian maid accused of murdering her employer.
The maid, Tuti Tursilawati, killed her employer in May last year before fleeing with $A8500 and his watch.
Tuti, who is scheduled to be executed in November, claims her employer raped her.
The president became involved in the case after a public outcry in Indonesia over the beheading of another Indonesian maid by Saudi authorities in June this year.
Indonesia also recently paid $503,000 in "blood money" to a Saudi family so it would agree to spare another maid from execution.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is expected to raise the issue of clemency for Chan and Sukumaran, as well as Corby, when she meets the Indonesian president in Bali next month.
However, a source involved in capital punishment matters in Indonesia, and who has met the president, has told AAP that Dr Yudhoyono is reluctant to make a decision in relation to the clemency bids of the Australians and may instead pass the responsibility on to the next administration.
Chan and Sukumaran, the so-called ringleaders of a 2005 plot to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin from Bali to Australia, had their final appeals against their death sentences rejected earlier this year and must rely on mercy from Dr Yudhoyono if they are to avoid the firing squad.
Their Australian lawyer, Julian McMahon, confirmed on Friday that his clients were yet to submit their clemency applications.
"They are being prepared but are yet to be filed," he said.
The comments from the president's office also have implications for Australian Schapelle Corby, who is serving a 20-year term for smuggling 4.2kg of cannabis into Indonesia, and who lodged her clemency request almost a year ago.
Corby is understood to be struggling psychologically after having now endured almost 10 years inside the squalid confines of Kerobokan prison in Bali.
The 34-year-old is not due to be released until April 12, 2024.
It is possible, however, that she may receive further remissions on top of the 17 months that have already been cut from her 20-year sentence.




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