Myuran Sukumaran - Criminal Trial - Sentencing and Appeal

Sentencing and Appeal

On 24 January 2006, prosecutors called for the death penalty to be handed down on Sukumaran, the first time a demand of death was put forward by prosecutors for any of the Bali Nine. Days later, prosecutors advanced the same call followed for Chan. Prosecutors told a Bali court there was no reason to show any leniency towards Sukumaran because he helped organise the heroin smuggling operation. Prosecutors also claim Sukumaran and Chan strapped heroin to the bodies of the fellow accused. Indonesian police identified Sukumaran as one of the main players in what they say was a major smuggling ring.

Found guilty of drug trafficking, on 14 February 2006, three judges in the Denpasar District Court sentenced Sukumaran to death by firing squad.

Despite being relatively free of emotion during criminal proceedings, on the day verdicts were handed down, Sukumaran lunged at photographers. The sentencing was carried live on Australian television as Sukumaran and Chan both showed little emotion during the proceedings. Commenting on the sentences at the time, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Keelty stated:

"I stand by the police and what they've done … The Federal Court actually made a decision saying not only had they acted lawfully but they acted in accordance with government policy."

Australian Prime Minister John Howard was reported as commenting:

"The police are there to protect us from the ravages of drugs and I just hope that every young Australian who might in their wildest imagination think that they can get away with this will take a lesson from this" and "I feel desperately sorry for the parents of these people. I do. All of us as parents will feel that way, but the warnings have been there for decades" and "We are against the death penalty..... We will make, in an appropriate way, at the appropriate time, representations."

It was also reported that the Australian government had, since December 2005, used diplomatic channels to plead with the Indonesian government that the death penalty not be sought. Following the handing down of the death sentence for both Sukumaran and Chan, The New Zealand Herald speculated the circumstances under which the execution would occur.

Julian McMahon, a Melbourne human rights lawyer who took over the case in 2006 on a pro-bono basis, appealed against the severity of Sukumaran's sentence to the Indonesian Supreme Court. During the appeal hearings, it was revealed that the governor of Kerobokan Prison described Sukumaran and Chan as model prisoners and that Sukumaran and Chan have a positive influence on other prisoners. In the meantime, the Australian Government elected to not intervene until the outcome of the appeals was known.

On 7 July 2011, it was announced that the Indonesian Supreme Court had rejected Sukumaran's appeal against his death sentence. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has the power to grant clemency, although some media reports consider this unlikely and expect that Sukamaran will be executed.