Indonesia sentences British woman to death for drug smuggling
34 replies, posted
[img]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130122102023-lindsay-june-sandiford-story-top.jpg[/img]
[quote]
(CNN) -- A 56-year-old British woman caught smuggling blocks of cocaine in her suitcase has been sentenced to death in Indonesia.
Prosecutors in Bali had asked for a 15-year sentence for Lindsay June Sandiford, who was arrested last May carrying what officials said was cocaine worth an estimated $2.6 million.
Read more: British housewife caught with $2.6M in cocaine could face death
But a panel of judges opted Tuesday to hand down the death penalty instead.
Their decision was based on the defendant having shown no regret for what she did, Indonesian state news agency Antara reported.
"We were surprised by the decision, because we never expected the death penalty," Ezra Karo Karo, a lawyer acting for Sandiford, is quoted by the news agency as saying.
He said the judge had not considered the mitigating circumstances in his client's case, such as that she acted under the threat of violence to her family, Antara reported.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed the sentence but said only that it would continue to provide consular assistance.
"The UK remains strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances," a Foreign Office statement said.
Read related: Saudis defend Sri Lankan maid's execution, hit back at criticism
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has strict laws against drug trafficking.
Sandiford, a grandmother from northeast England, was found to have blocks of cocaine weighing 4.7 kilograms (10.4 pounds) in her suitcase when she arrived on the island of Bali in May, the court heard.
The head of Bali's Customs and Excise Agency monitoring division, Made Wijaya, warned at the time of her arrest that Sandiford could face execution if convicted.
"The main reason is because narcotics can massively endanger the young and, thus, whoever is caught with drugs should be severely punished. If three people can consume one gram of cocaine, then this operation has potentially saved up to 14,000 lives," he said.
The UK-based group Reprieve, which works to secure the human rights of prisoners around the world, said Sandiford was a vulnerable person who should not have been sentenced so harshly.
"Lindsay has always maintained that she only agreed to carry the package to Bali after receiving threats against the lives of her family," said Harriet McCulloch of Reprieve.
"She is clearly not a drug kingpin -- she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel costs of defense witnesses or even for essentials like food and water.
"She has cooperated fully with the Indonesian authorities but has been sentenced to death while the gang operating in the UK, Thailand and Indonesia remain free to target other vulnerable people."
Any appeal for Sandiford must be filed within 14 days, McCulloch said in a written statement.
"It is vital that the British government do everything possible to support Lindsay's appeal against the death sentence," she added.
Sandiford's lawyer told Antara that it was likely that his client would appeal the sentence.
Reprieve says that after her arrest, Indonesian police interrogated Sandiford without a translator, legal representation or the assistance of the British Embassy for 10 days.
The U.S. State Department warns travelers to Indonesia of the risks of being caught smuggling drugs.
"Penalties for possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Indonesia are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines," or the death penalty, it says. "Indonesian prisons are harsh and do not meet Western standards."[/quote]
[url]http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/22/world/asia/indonesia-uk-death-sentence/index.html[/url]
Both sides are dumb.
Drug trafficking in countries like Indonesia is the last thing you want to do. Even worse if you are an outsider. The prisons are a living hell compared to the prisons in other countries.
But death penalty is an overkill. I guess it's because of the ammount of cocaine she had.
I'm pretty certain that the UK Embassy would sue for her release
[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;39316093]Both sides are dumb.
Drug trafficking in countries like Indonesia is the last thing you want to do. Even worse if you are an outsider. The prisons are a living hell compared to the prisons in other countries.
But death penalty is an overkill. I guess it's because of the ammount of cocaine she had.[/QUOTE]
Many of those countries have been plagued by drug wars and I wouldn't be surprised if their rebel factions and insurgents are funded by this.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;39316114]I'm pretty certain that the UK Embassy would sue for her release
Many of those countries have been plagued by drug wars and I wouldn't be surprised if their rebel factions and insurgents are funded by this.[/QUOTE]
What would they sue for? ... you can't sue (and win) a country because they arrested someone breaking a law
[QUOTE=zzaacckk;39316143]What would they sue for? ... you can't sue (and win) a country because they arrested someone breaking a law[/QUOTE]
Many countries would often get their citizens back on their own territory to have them serve their sentences in their prisons with slightly reduced sentences.
[editline]22nd January 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=zzaacckk;39316143]What would they sue for? ... you can't sue (and win) a country because they arrested someone breaking a law[/QUOTE]
Many countries would often get their citizens back on their own territory to have them serve their sentences in their prisons with slightly better conditions.
[QUOTE=zzaacckk;39316143]What would they sue for? ... you can't sue (and win) a country because they arrested someone breaking a law[/QUOTE]
[B]Sue[/B]: [I]verb[/I], sued, su·ing.
To make petition or appeal: to sue for peace.
It's hard for me to have sympathy for her. Her defense is people threatened her family if she didn't do it.
My question is: So did someone just come up to her randomly saying "Hey you! Take this suitcase to Bali or your family will be killed."? I find that hard to believe. For one thing, there are a lot of people out there who would be willing to be drug mules for relatively little money and you wouldn't have to threaten to kill anyone. Plus you wouldn't risk losing 2 million dollars of your cocaine by letting a dumbass civilian carry it.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;39316431]It's hard for me to have sympathy for her. Her defense is people threatened her family if she didn't do it.
My question is: So did someone just come up to her randomly saying "Hey you! Take this suitcase to Bali or your family will be killed."? I find that hard to believe. For one thing, there are a lot of people out there who would be willing to be drug mules for relatively little money and you wouldn't have to threaten to kill anyone. Plus you wouldn't risk losing 2 million dollars of your cocaine by letting a dumbass civilian carry it.[/QUOTE]
I've heard cases of this happening before. The groups behind it choose to intimidate instead of coerce with money because if your family's life is at stake, you're going to be a lot more motivated to do something than if they would pay you some money. It's added "security", as terrible of an idea that is.
didn't this happen to some british guy in thailand?
[QUOTE=Johnny Guitar;39316511]didn't this happen to some british guy in thailand?[/QUOTE]
Situations like these have happened to a lot of people already, although I don't think it was a sentence this bad.
Sounds like good Locked Up Abroad potential.
[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;39316093]Both sides are dumb.
Drug trafficking in countries like Indonesia is the last thing you want to do. Even worse if you are an outsider. The prisons are a living hell compared to the prisons in other countries.
But death penalty is an overkill. I guess it's because of the ammount of cocaine she had.[/QUOTE]
If we expect outsiders and immigrants to behave within our own countries rules, we should only expect that to be reciprocated. Although I personally believe that the death sentence should be given to serial rapists and murderers and such people, even then when it's beyond any reasonable doubt that they've got the right person.
[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;39316189]Many countries would often get their citizens back on their own territory to have them serve their sentences in their prisons with slightly reduced sentences.[/QUOTE]
Never gonna happen, Indonesia are notorious for this kind of shit. See [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bali_Nine[/URL]
If you commit crime in another country, expect to face the consequences.
Well that's what you get for smuggling something that causes death and violence into another country, I say fair enough, she shouldn't been so stupid.
Another problem that wouldn't have happened if Indonesia were still a colony.
Capital punishment is harsh but it's their country and their laws, don't like the sentence? Don't commit the crime.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;39320769]Another problem that wouldn't have happened if Indonesia were still a colony.[/QUOTE]
Because the Netherlands just love coke smugglers
Indonesia has executed a dozen or so Australian in the last decade for drug smuggling. There is nothing the Australian government could do to stop it and there is nothing the UK government can do either
With how many foreigners that get caught doing the exact same thing, why bother risking it?
[QUOTE=Antdawg;39324081]With how many foreigners that get caught doing the exact same thing, why bother risking it?[/QUOTE]
I would say it's a mixture of not knowing the penalties and large amounts of money
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;39320769]Another problem that wouldn't have happened if Indonesia were still a colony.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, who cares about independence. You know what else, if we could get those guys to do all of the work there without needing to pay them, you know how much revenue we could make?
I feel that she deserves the sentence.
For one, she probably knew the law before she started smuggling cocaine into [I]a foreign country with different laws than her own.[/I]
Second, she [I]went ahead and did it[/I] knowing the possible consequences of her actions.
This reminds me of the story of the pregnant woman who was arrested for smuggling bibles into the Soviet Union or something. She deserved her punishment, too.
[QUOTE=Quark:;39324863]I feel that she deserves the sentence.
For one, she probably knew the law before she started smuggling cocaine into [I]a foreign country with different laws than her own.[/I]
Second, she [I]went ahead and did it[/I] knowing the possible consequences of her actions.
This reminds me of the story of the pregnant woman who was arrested for smuggling bibles into the Soviet Union or something. She deserved her punishment, too.[/QUOTE]
yeah so let's kill her that sounds about right yeah m8??
[QUOTE=Quark:;39324863]I feel that she deserves the sentence.
For one, she probably knew the law before she started smuggling cocaine into [I]a foreign country with different laws than her own.[/I]
Second, she [I]went ahead and did it[/I] knowing the possible consequences of her actions.
This reminds me of the story of the pregnant woman who was arrested for smuggling bibles into the Soviet Union or something. She deserved her punishment, too.[/QUOTE]
Appeal to law fallacy
Just because a foreign country has different laws than our own that doesn't automatically make them in the right.
[QUOTE=Quark:;39324863]I feel that she deserves the sentence.
For one, she probably knew the law before she started smuggling cocaine into a foreign country with different laws than her own.
Second, she went ahead and did it knowing the possible consequences of her actions.
This reminds me of the story of the pregnant woman who was arrested for smuggling bibles into the Soviet Union or something. She deserved her punishment, too.[/QUOTE]
Good to know that this is all the insight you need to decide that someone is entirely deserving of something as absolute as death.
[QUOTE=download;39324141]I would say it's a mixture of not knowing the penalties and large amounts of money[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry but even the arrival visas you have to sign before you even land have big red warnings at the top about smuggling and the death penalty.
It's impossible to play ignorant.
15 Years in an Indonesian prison for a 56 year old woman would pretty much have been a death sentence as well.
[QUOTE=shian;39316059]
" If three people can consume one gram of cocaine, then this operation has potentially saved up to 14,000 lives"
[/QUOTE]
Ok you found a large amount of coke, well done, but you are not superheroes who just saved a town calm the fuck down
-snip-
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