The fate of the Bali 9 duo—Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were shot by firing squad in April this year—may have been sealed partly by convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby‘s attitude toward Indonesia, former Indonesian constitutional court chief justice, Jimly Asshiddiqie, has told Fairfax Media.
According to Asshiddique, the reaction of Corby and her family to the 38-year-old’s successful clemency bid tainted the public’s view of similar rulings handed to Australians.
“[Former president] SBY [Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono] once gave clemency to Corby, and … she still spoke very badly about Indonesia. She never showed her thanks, or expressed any thanks to Indonesia. This created a very bad impression among the Indonesian public.”
In 2012, Schapelle Corby received a reduced sentence to be served outside of a Balinese prison, was released on parole in February 2014, and will be released to Australia in 2017 – following her 2004 conviction of smuggling 4kg of marijuana into the country from Australia.
Earlier this year, Former Indonesian justice minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra agreed that the ruling in Corby’s favour could impact the Bali 9 Duo’s fate.
Jimly Asshiddiqie also claimed a controversial poll conducted by Triple J for Hack also impacted on Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s justification for the pair’s death sentences.
In January, the Roy Morgan poll commissioned by Hack showed 52% of respondents agreed Australians convicted of drug smuggling abroad should receive the death penalty.
Asshiddiqie told Fairfax that the poll’s results conveyed a sense of support for Chan and Sukumaran’s fate to Indonesia and its Government: “the majority of the people in Australia don’t care about the executions – only the minority gets angry with Indonesia”.
Via SMH.
Lead image by Dimas Ardian via Getty.
