- catholicleader.com.au
Indonesia's Supreme Court has spared the life of an Australian who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking, one of his lawyers said Tuesday.
Scott Rush was one of nine Australians convicted in April 2005 of attempting to smuggle 18.3 pounds (8.3 kilograms) of heroin to Australia from the resort island of Bali.
Frans Hendrawinata, one of Rush's Indonesian lawyers, said the Supreme Court spared Rush's life by reducing his death sentence to life imprisonment. He did not say when the verdict was handed down.
Six members of the group, dubbed the "Bali Nine" by the Australian media, were sentenced to death, two were given life imprisonment and one was sentenced to 20 years.
Rush and three others were initially given life sentences, but the Supreme Court changed them to death sentences in September 2006. Rush then requested a judicial review last July.
"In principle we accept the reduction even though we had requested a 15-year jail term," Hendrawinata said of the July appeal.
He said Rush, who was 19 when he was arrested, was just acting as a courier, expressed remorse and promised to be an anti-drug activist.
Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws, and traffickers are regularly sentenced to death.
About 140 people are on death row, including more than 40 foreigners, most of them for drug-related crimes.
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Associated Press
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Presiden Direktur PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) Tony Wenas bersama tiga Ketua Serikat Pekerja/Serikat Buruh PTFI menandatangani Perjanjian Kerja Bersama (PKB).
