( Australian ) Government accused of exporting death penalty

[WearyOne]

"Govt accused of exporting death penalty

A civil libertarian wants the Federal Government to clarify its position on the death penalty after nine Australians were arrested in Bali for heroin smuggling.

Australian Council for Civil Liberties president Terry O'Gorman says it appears they were about to board a plane to Australia when they were arrested.

Mr O'Gorman says he cannot understand why the Australian Federal Police (AFP) passed information to Indonesian authorities rather than waiting to make the arrest themselves.

He says then they could have faced the Australian justice system.

"What has to be answered by the Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison is why were these people, the subject of an arrest in Indonesia where it's already been said quite categorically that if found guilty, no question they will be executed," he said"

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1348364.htm

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My comment :

while in way supporting actions of any heroin courier I think this is yet another demonstration of how America's "deputy sheriff" PM John Howard slavishly follows the hard lines of George W.Bush.

The Australia Federal Police & our CIA version, ASIO both actively promoted the WMD theory on Iraq on no proof and yet were criminally slack in developing intelligence about the Bali bombers leading to the deaths of over 200 young club revelers.

These authorities claim to have known of this drug courier scheme for TEN months. Why didn't they pull in these 9 young people for questioning before they embarked for Bali and then plant their own officers to infiltrate the distributors of heroin at the source in Indonesia or Thailand to bust the real manufacturers who use dispensable mules like these youngsters : the youngest is only FIFTEEN and faces a firing squad.

[blogbear]

1. What else could we expect from a former 'penal colony' nation?..

[WearyOne]

2. think you may be right..still run by our masters who know better

[foreigncorrespondent]

3. Especially considering...

...any Aussie who has watched Border Security (a show on one of our free to air TV stations about Australian Customs) knows exactly how drug busts go down.

They could have got them here rather than there. And from what I have seen, they usually like to get them here for the simple reason, they can track the stuff and get the bigger people involved, not just the traffickers.

Howard knows if he tries to bring the death penalty back here, there would be a huge public outcry. And that would truly affect his party in the next federal election.