First Bali Nine trials adjourned
A Brisbane man was recruited as a drug mule just two days before leaving Australia for Bali on what he thought was a free holiday, an Indonesian court has heard.
Michael William Czugaj, 20, fighting a possible death sentence for alleged heroin trafficking, appeared in Denpasar District Court on Tuesday as the trials of the so-called Bali Nine got underway.
Wearing slacks, a shirt and tie with dark sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low over his face, the former window-cleaner stumbled and cowered through a packed media scrum to a stifling holding cell.
There he joined some 30 Indonesian prisoners and Bali Nine co-accused Myuran Sukumaran, 24 of Sydney, who went on trial separately.
In court, a seemingly calm Czugaj hugged and kissed his mother Vicky over the barrier to the public gallery before taking the witness chair.
Lee and Christine Rush, the parents of Czugaj's good friend and co-accused Scott Rush, 19, were also there for moral support.
The anxious parents were grim-faced as the court was told Sukumaran had lured their sons into the drug gang with the promise of their first overseas, and all-expenses paid, holiday.
During a meeting in Sydney just two days before they arrived in Bali, Sukumaran allegedly told Rush he must know about Bali and gave him $A3,000 to buy a package trip for himself and Czugaj, prosecutor David Adji said.
The indictment read to the court did not say whether Czugaj questioned the offer of a free holiday.
Once in Bali, the friends again met Sukumaran as well as other members of the alleged gang and were told to send packages back to Australia.
"If they succeeded they were told they would be rewarded with $A5,000 each," Adji said.
On April 17, just before leaving a Kuta hotel for the airport, Sukumaran and alleged gang enforcer Andrew Chan strapped transparent packages of heroin - dusted with pepper to ward off sniffer dogs - to the bodies of Czugaj, Rush and two other accused mules.
The four alleged mules, who have told police Sukumaran and Chan threatened their families' lives if they refused to take part in the smuggling attempt, were arrested that night waiting to board a Sydney-bound plane with 8.2 grams of heroin between them.
Chan was arrested at the airport with no drugs on him, while Sukumaran and three others were arrested at a Kuta hotel.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the death penalty for all nine under article 82 of Indonesia's tough anti-drugs laws.
They may also be tried under a lesser law on possession, which carries a maximum of up to 10 years' jail.
Czugaj's lawyers declined to object to the charges.
"I'm optimistic because we have proof that our client is an innocent victim," lawyer Ruben Sang said.
The trial has been adjourned to next Tuesday, when prosecutors are expected to call arresting officers as witnesses.
"Bali Nine"
Moderator: S2k Moderators
-
AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
-
AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
Bali Nine drug trials delayed again
Accused Bali Nine drug runner Martin Stephens chatted and joked with reporters on Wednesday as he waited for his trial to begin.
But the 29-year-old also said he thought a lot about the events that could earn him the death penalty.
Stephens, from Wollongong, was passed sandwiches and water by his mother Michelle and brother Kevin as he waited in stifling heat in a holding cell at Denpasar District Court in Bali.
His separate trial was due to start on Wednesday morning but was delayed as judges met to discuss his case.
In a courtroom nearby, the joint trial of three of his alleged fellow drug gang members got underway and was adjourned about an hour later.
Stephens, together with Matthew Norman, 19, and Si Yi Chen, 20, both from Sydney, and Brisbane man Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, 27, all faced the death penalty for alleged heroin trafficking and possession.
The court was told Norman, Chen and Nguyen, arrested together at Kuta's Melasti Hotel, were "neat and secretive" as they planned their alleged drug smuggling operation.
Nearby, as Stephens fanned himself by the doors of his holding cell, he was asked if he was still thinking about the events leading to the nine's arrest in Denpasar in April, as they allegedly planned to ship heroin to Australia.
"Yeah, a lot," replied Stephens, who was allegedly caught with heroin strapped to his body.
Stephens said he passed the time in prison on Tuesday making fellow inmate and Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence a 28th birthday card and said he was also trying to learn Indonesian from police and prison guards.
"I'm trying," he said with a smile, before being cut off by court officials.
"If I keep talking to them, you send them away," he joked to a senior guard.
Stephens' trial was still expected to get under way on Wednesday.
All four who appeared on Wednesday had arrived in a green prison van, with Chen and Nguyen handcuffed together and dressed identically in black pants and white shirts.
Stephens and Norman were right behind them, also handcuffed together.
Accused Bali Nine drug runner Martin Stephens chatted and joked with reporters on Wednesday as he waited for his trial to begin.
But the 29-year-old also said he thought a lot about the events that could earn him the death penalty.
Stephens, from Wollongong, was passed sandwiches and water by his mother Michelle and brother Kevin as he waited in stifling heat in a holding cell at Denpasar District Court in Bali.
His separate trial was due to start on Wednesday morning but was delayed as judges met to discuss his case.
In a courtroom nearby, the joint trial of three of his alleged fellow drug gang members got underway and was adjourned about an hour later.
Stephens, together with Matthew Norman, 19, and Si Yi Chen, 20, both from Sydney, and Brisbane man Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, 27, all faced the death penalty for alleged heroin trafficking and possession.
The court was told Norman, Chen and Nguyen, arrested together at Kuta's Melasti Hotel, were "neat and secretive" as they planned their alleged drug smuggling operation.
Nearby, as Stephens fanned himself by the doors of his holding cell, he was asked if he was still thinking about the events leading to the nine's arrest in Denpasar in April, as they allegedly planned to ship heroin to Australia.
"Yeah, a lot," replied Stephens, who was allegedly caught with heroin strapped to his body.
Stephens said he passed the time in prison on Tuesday making fellow inmate and Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence a 28th birthday card and said he was also trying to learn Indonesian from police and prison guards.
"I'm trying," he said with a smile, before being cut off by court officials.
"If I keep talking to them, you send them away," he joked to a senior guard.
Stephens' trial was still expected to get under way on Wednesday.
All four who appeared on Wednesday had arrived in a green prison van, with Chen and Nguyen handcuffed together and dressed identically in black pants and white shirts.
Stephens and Norman were right behind them, also handcuffed together.
0 likes
-
AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
Plea to PM on behalf of Bali Nine
AUSTRALIAN lawyers for the Bali Nine have approached the Howard Government, seeking diplomatic intervention to have the death penalty removed as a possible sentence for the alleged heroin-smugglers.
As the nine defendants appeared in a Bali court for the first time this week, Queensland barrister Robert Meyers said he was optimistic about an official plea for clemency after two meetings with government ministers.
Mr Meyers, a lawyer for Scott Rush, 19, of Brisbane, said he had met Attorney-General Philip Ruddock and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
"It has been indicated the Government will ultimately do all it can to ensure the death penalty is removed," he said.
He hoped John Howard would speak to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and say: "I need a favour, old son."
A longtime friend of the Rush family, Mr Meyers was the lawyer who contacted the Australian Federal Police in April, telling them Mr Rush was planning to get involved in "drug-related matters" in Indonesia.
Acting on instructions from Mr Rush's parents, Lee and Christine, Mr Meyers hoped the teenager would be stopped by police and "scared off" before going to Bali.
The tip-off is the subject of a Federal Court action launched by Mr Rush and co-accused Renae Lawrence, 27, in which it is alleged the AFP used the information to help Indonesian authorities arrest those involved in the alleged smuggling ring, exposing them to the threat of the death penalty.
The court action claims AFP officers broke the law by exposing Mr Rush and Ms Lawrence to possible death sentences.
Mr Meyers said Mr Rush had been blamed by his co-accused for their capture.
"The others have been very critical of Scott, they believe my tip-off alerted authorities to what they were doing," he said.
Mr Meyers said Lee and Christine Rush had also blamed themselves for their son's arrest.
"But I get the impression the authorities knew weeks, even months, before I made the call."
AUSTRALIAN lawyers for the Bali Nine have approached the Howard Government, seeking diplomatic intervention to have the death penalty removed as a possible sentence for the alleged heroin-smugglers.
As the nine defendants appeared in a Bali court for the first time this week, Queensland barrister Robert Meyers said he was optimistic about an official plea for clemency after two meetings with government ministers.
Mr Meyers, a lawyer for Scott Rush, 19, of Brisbane, said he had met Attorney-General Philip Ruddock and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
"It has been indicated the Government will ultimately do all it can to ensure the death penalty is removed," he said.
He hoped John Howard would speak to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and say: "I need a favour, old son."
A longtime friend of the Rush family, Mr Meyers was the lawyer who contacted the Australian Federal Police in April, telling them Mr Rush was planning to get involved in "drug-related matters" in Indonesia.
Acting on instructions from Mr Rush's parents, Lee and Christine, Mr Meyers hoped the teenager would be stopped by police and "scared off" before going to Bali.
The tip-off is the subject of a Federal Court action launched by Mr Rush and co-accused Renae Lawrence, 27, in which it is alleged the AFP used the information to help Indonesian authorities arrest those involved in the alleged smuggling ring, exposing them to the threat of the death penalty.
The court action claims AFP officers broke the law by exposing Mr Rush and Ms Lawrence to possible death sentences.
Mr Meyers said Mr Rush had been blamed by his co-accused for their capture.
"The others have been very critical of Scott, they believe my tip-off alerted authorities to what they were doing," he said.
Mr Meyers said Lee and Christine Rush had also blamed themselves for their son's arrest.
"But I get the impression the authorities knew weeks, even months, before I made the call."
0 likes
-
AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
Chan paid for mules' trip, court hears
WHEN accused heroin trafficker Renae Lawrence was invited by Andrew Chan, her boss at a Sydney catering company, to go on an all-expenses paid trip to Bali there was only one condition, that she do whatever he told her to.
It must have seemed an attractive offer to the then 27-year-old from Newcastle, north of Sydney, because, according to charges laid in Denpasar District Court yesterday, she made enthusiastic preparations for the trip with Mr Chan and his girlfriend, named in prosecutors' briefs as Grace.
The first of Ms Lawrence's orders from her boss came when she and Martin Eric Stephens checked into a motel on April 3 in Enfield, southwest Sydney, in rooms paid for by Mr Chan. They were to travel with Grace to meet at a Sydney shopping centre.
There, after asking Mr Stephens to check with a travel agent the cost of tickets to Bali, Mr Chan withdrew $2850 from a bank account to pay for Ms Lawrence's and Mr Stephens's fares. He gave the pair a further $500 spending money and a mobile phone, prosecutors allege.
Mr Chan flew to Bali the same day but two days later Ms Lawrence and Mr Stephens were visited at the Enfield motel by Grace, who brought supplies for the trip: sticking plasters, a rubberised Thermoskin waistband and bike shorts, which she stashed in Ms Lawrence's suitcase. Some time that day, Mr Chan phoned from Indonesia with orders to collect two more members of the group, soon to become known as the Bali Nine, Si Yi Chen and Matthew James Norman, from Strathfield railway station.
The following day, April 6, Ms Lawrence flew to Bali with Mr Stephens, Mr Chen and Mr Norman, prosecutors allege. All were told by Mr Chan not to speak among themselves during the trip.
Ms Lawrence, Mr Stephens and Mr Norman all worked together at the Sydney Cricket Ground-based catering company, Eurest Australia, where Mr Chan was their supervisor.
Two days later the group's remaining members, Tan Duc Than Nguyen, alleged co-leader Myuran Sukumaran and the two other alleged mules, Scott Anthony Rush and Michael William Czugaj, arrived in Bali.
Prosecutors say the plotters spent the following days in Kuta laying the final plans for their audacious attempt to smuggle 8kg of heroin hidden on the bodies of the four mules. It was a plan that was to end in disaster, with the arrests of all nine Australians in Bali on April 17.
Ms Lawrence's senior lawyer, Yan Apul, said after yesterday's hearing he would argue his client could not possibly have been caught with the almost 2.2kg of heroin she had taped to her body when detained at Denpasar airport unless she was supplied with it by someone else, and that person must bear responsibility for planning the enterprise.
Mr Apul said the charges against his client did not reflect her insistence that she was forced into the operation by Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran.
Ms Lawrence, recovering from an infected tooth, sat listlessly in her chair in front of the panel of judges. Her father, Bob Lawrence, and stepmother Jenny sat watching proceedings from the gallery.
WHEN accused heroin trafficker Renae Lawrence was invited by Andrew Chan, her boss at a Sydney catering company, to go on an all-expenses paid trip to Bali there was only one condition, that she do whatever he told her to.
It must have seemed an attractive offer to the then 27-year-old from Newcastle, north of Sydney, because, according to charges laid in Denpasar District Court yesterday, she made enthusiastic preparations for the trip with Mr Chan and his girlfriend, named in prosecutors' briefs as Grace.
The first of Ms Lawrence's orders from her boss came when she and Martin Eric Stephens checked into a motel on April 3 in Enfield, southwest Sydney, in rooms paid for by Mr Chan. They were to travel with Grace to meet at a Sydney shopping centre.
There, after asking Mr Stephens to check with a travel agent the cost of tickets to Bali, Mr Chan withdrew $2850 from a bank account to pay for Ms Lawrence's and Mr Stephens's fares. He gave the pair a further $500 spending money and a mobile phone, prosecutors allege.
Mr Chan flew to Bali the same day but two days later Ms Lawrence and Mr Stephens were visited at the Enfield motel by Grace, who brought supplies for the trip: sticking plasters, a rubberised Thermoskin waistband and bike shorts, which she stashed in Ms Lawrence's suitcase. Some time that day, Mr Chan phoned from Indonesia with orders to collect two more members of the group, soon to become known as the Bali Nine, Si Yi Chen and Matthew James Norman, from Strathfield railway station.
The following day, April 6, Ms Lawrence flew to Bali with Mr Stephens, Mr Chen and Mr Norman, prosecutors allege. All were told by Mr Chan not to speak among themselves during the trip.
Ms Lawrence, Mr Stephens and Mr Norman all worked together at the Sydney Cricket Ground-based catering company, Eurest Australia, where Mr Chan was their supervisor.
Two days later the group's remaining members, Tan Duc Than Nguyen, alleged co-leader Myuran Sukumaran and the two other alleged mules, Scott Anthony Rush and Michael William Czugaj, arrived in Bali.
Prosecutors say the plotters spent the following days in Kuta laying the final plans for their audacious attempt to smuggle 8kg of heroin hidden on the bodies of the four mules. It was a plan that was to end in disaster, with the arrests of all nine Australians in Bali on April 17.
Ms Lawrence's senior lawyer, Yan Apul, said after yesterday's hearing he would argue his client could not possibly have been caught with the almost 2.2kg of heroin she had taped to her body when detained at Denpasar airport unless she was supplied with it by someone else, and that person must bear responsibility for planning the enterprise.
Mr Apul said the charges against his client did not reflect her insistence that she was forced into the operation by Mr Chan and Mr Sukumaran.
Ms Lawrence, recovering from an infected tooth, sat listlessly in her chair in front of the panel of judges. Her father, Bob Lawrence, and stepmother Jenny sat watching proceedings from the gallery.
0 likes
-
AussieMark
- Category 5
- Posts: 5858
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 6:36 pm
- Location: near Sydney, Australia
Lawrence turns on Bali Nine
ACCUSED heroin smuggler Renae Lawrence will testify against her eight co-accused Australians in a bid to save herself from the death penalty.
The only female member of the Bali Nine will claim she was pushed into carrying drugs strapped to her body out of Bali under threat of death.
She will also claim two gang members threatened to kill her family if she turned against them and that it was a similar threat that forced her into becoming a drug mule.
Lawrence made her first solo court appearance yesterday dressed in a black suit. Her father Bob and stepmother Jenny said she was suffering a toothache, trauma and depression.
"We hope things go well for her. She was forced into it," Mr Lawrence said after talking with his daughter.
Lawrence, 28, of Newcastle, was told yesterday she had been charged separately from the rest of the group. That meant she would have to testify against her co-accused to prove she was not part of a conspiracy, her lawyer Yan Apul Girsang said outside court.
Mr Girsang said he hoped Lawrence would escape the death penalty and that the threats from other gang members would form a big part of her defence.
But prosecutors say Lawrence was so well prepared for drug smuggling that she took masking tape, plastic wrap and bicycle pants to Bali in preparation for bringing the heroin back to Australia. They also claim it was not the first time she had smuggled drugs.
Lawrence appeared shell-shocked as Mr Girsang explained the implications of being charged individually. "We are going to be victimised, we need your support," he told her.
Lawrence nodded numbly before being led to a police van to return to Bali's Kerobokan Jail.
Lawrence was arrested at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport with Martin Stephens, 29, and Brisbane men Scott Rush, 19, and Michael Czugaj, 20. They allegedly had a total of 8.2kg of heroin strapped to their bodies. Accused organiser Andrew Chan, 21, of Sydney, also was arrested at the airport.
Another alleged organiser Myuran Sukumaran, 24, and three other men, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, 27, Matthew Norman, 19 and Si Yi Chen, 20, were arrested at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta.
Lawrence's defence will rely on claims that Chan – her boss at a Sydney catering company – and Sukumaran threatened to kill her family unless she carried drugs.
ACCUSED heroin smuggler Renae Lawrence will testify against her eight co-accused Australians in a bid to save herself from the death penalty.
The only female member of the Bali Nine will claim she was pushed into carrying drugs strapped to her body out of Bali under threat of death.
She will also claim two gang members threatened to kill her family if she turned against them and that it was a similar threat that forced her into becoming a drug mule.
Lawrence made her first solo court appearance yesterday dressed in a black suit. Her father Bob and stepmother Jenny said she was suffering a toothache, trauma and depression.
"We hope things go well for her. She was forced into it," Mr Lawrence said after talking with his daughter.
Lawrence, 28, of Newcastle, was told yesterday she had been charged separately from the rest of the group. That meant she would have to testify against her co-accused to prove she was not part of a conspiracy, her lawyer Yan Apul Girsang said outside court.
Mr Girsang said he hoped Lawrence would escape the death penalty and that the threats from other gang members would form a big part of her defence.
But prosecutors say Lawrence was so well prepared for drug smuggling that she took masking tape, plastic wrap and bicycle pants to Bali in preparation for bringing the heroin back to Australia. They also claim it was not the first time she had smuggled drugs.
Lawrence appeared shell-shocked as Mr Girsang explained the implications of being charged individually. "We are going to be victimised, we need your support," he told her.
Lawrence nodded numbly before being led to a police van to return to Bali's Kerobokan Jail.
Lawrence was arrested at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport with Martin Stephens, 29, and Brisbane men Scott Rush, 19, and Michael Czugaj, 20. They allegedly had a total of 8.2kg of heroin strapped to their bodies. Accused organiser Andrew Chan, 21, of Sydney, also was arrested at the airport.
Another alleged organiser Myuran Sukumaran, 24, and three other men, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, 27, Matthew Norman, 19 and Si Yi Chen, 20, were arrested at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta.
Lawrence's defence will rely on claims that Chan – her boss at a Sydney catering company – and Sukumaran threatened to kill her family unless she carried drugs.
0 likes
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 44 guests