Aussie painter jailed on Bali drug charges

An Australian painter convicted of drug use in Bali has been jailed for eight months.

Sydney man Shane Christos Demos, 37, was on Thursday found "officially and convincingly guilty" of using hashish and heroin.

Following a trial in the Denpasar District Court, chief judge Nyoman Sutama imposed a sentence of eight months.

Demos had acted against the Indonesian government's efforts to fight drug abuse in the country, Mr Sutama said.

The jail term was slightly more lenient than the one-year sentence sought by prosecutors.

Demos was arrested in September outside a shop in Bali's Double Six nightclub area.

A police search found 5.9 grams of dried hashish and 0.3g of heroin hidden in a cigarette box in his pants.

The Australian told authorities he had paid one million rupiah ($A140) for the hashish, but had been given the heroin for free at a nearby restaurant.

Mr Sutama noted that Demos did not have a criminal record and had expressed remorse.

"The defendant admitted to and regretted his actions. The defendant promised never to repeat his actions again," the chief judge said.

He said Demos had admitted using drugs to self-medicate following a car accident.

Defence lawyer Daniar Tri Sasongko said the Australian "accepted the verdict" and asked that his client be given medical treatment while in prison.

Aust govt inconsistent on death penalty

Imam Samudra, 38, Amrozi, 47, and Mukhlas, 48, have all been executed.

The lawyer for one of the Bali Nine members facing death row says attempts to have his client's life spared will not be taken seriously unless the Federal Government consistently opposes the death penalty.

Solicitor John North represents drug smuggler Scott Rush and he wants the Federal Government to step up diplomatic pressure on Indonesia over capital punishment following the Bali bombers' execution.

Mr North says while he understands why the Government did not campaign for the lives of the bombers, the Government cannot pick and choose.

"Probably can't expect them to do it because they were such monstrous crimes but the thing is they should make it quite clear to the many Indonesians that they value life, all human life," he said.

"They shouldn't try and cherry pick those that should be executed and those that should not."

Quote: All those innocent people killed in East Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan (Colateral Damage) never committed any crime and they were killed. Murdered in fact in cold blood by Indonesia and Australia and its complicity in those illegal and degrading wars and crimes against humanity. The fact is our government murder people in cold blood anytime they think that they can get away with it and they do so with impunity.

Related:

Indonesia tells bombers families get ready
The families of the Indonesian Islamists on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings have been told to "get ready" for the executions, a prosecutor says.

Protest Bali bombers' executions - priest
High profile Catholic priest Frank Brennan has called on the Australian Government to speak out against the execution of the three Bali bombers as it draws nearer.

Fool me twice 1-20 -Official release (BALI BOMBINGS/ETimor) Exposing the Australian government's lies about the East Timor massacres, the cover-up of the Bali bombings (including '93 WTC attack) and subsequent anti-terror legislation forced through parliament.

The Truth About Bali Bombings
Part One + Two: Que Bono. Who Benefited? The Bali Bombings were a direct US-Israeli response to the growing Peace marches and Anti War Movement in Australia that was ballooning at an alarming rate after 9-11 and after Bush announced he was waging illegal invasions. It also very quickly secured Indonesia's and Australia's subservience to the US and cemented involvement in the US led War on Terror, and subsequent illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rudd firm on capital punishment stance
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the fact that he backs the death penalty for the Bali bombers in Indonesia does not signal any change in his opposition to capital punishment in Australia.

Push for clear line on death penalty
PRESSURE is mounting on the Rudd Government from the Labor back bench to adopt a tougher stand against the death penalty.

I had no choice, says courier facing death
AN AUSTRALIAN sentenced to death in Vietnam this week for heroin trafficking told officials she was forced into the crime to pay off her husband's gambling debts.

'Bali nine' trio's death sentences overturned
Three 'Bali nine' members still face the death penalty, including the group's ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as well as Rush, the only drug mule still sentenced to death.

Protest Bali bombers' executions - priest

The attack was a conspiracy between "America, Australia and the Jews" and the three convicted bombers - Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron - had been framed: Abu Bakar Bashir

High profile Catholic priest Frank Brennan has called on the Australian Government to speak out against the execution of the three Bali bombers as it draws nearer.

Father Brennan said Australia needed to maintain a strong stance against capital punishment - including for the Bali bombers - or risk confusing the issue.

"We all feel profound sympathy for the victims and the victims' families," he told a death penalty panel discussion at the Ubud Writers Festival in Bali today.

"It's no denial of our sympathy to say we have a deep sympathy for you and your plight, but we still maintain a constant philosophical approach, namely that the death penalty in all circumstances is wrong."

His comments came as three Islamic militants on death row over the 2002 Bali bombings [scapegoats] were today visited by family members as Indonesia prepares to announce details of their impending executions.

Indonesia's attorney-general today reportedly reiterated the men would be put to death this year, and he would announce the month next week.

"Information is expensive ... later on the 24th, I will not announce everything," Hendarman Supandji said on Indonesia's ElShinta radio.

Indonesia's Constitutional Court is expected to rule on Tuesday on a side challenge by the bombers' lawyers, who have argued the country's use of firing squads to carry out executions amounts to torture.

Defence lawyer Achmad Michdan said Amrozi and Imam Samudra were visited by their wives, mothers and other relatives at their Nusakambangan Island prison, off Central Java, today.

He said relatives of Amrozi's brother Mukhlas would visit next week.

The men were convicted of playing key roles [scapegoats] in the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Rush hopeful

Meanwhile, death row Australian drug mule Scott Rush has written a letter read to the Bali writers' festival, hoping for changes to laws which one day might overturn his own death sentence.

"I'm not a writer but I am a convicted criminal," the now 22-year-old Rush wrote.

"I have been through some very rough times and have experienced some very long, slow nights.

"I have had a lot of time to think and I'm very sorry for what I have done and what I have caused.

"I still hope that one day I can show I'm capable of reform."

Bali bombers' executions not fair: judge

The former chief justice of Indonesia's Constitutional Court has questioned the fairness of executing the Bali bombers under convictions which were previously declared to be unconstitutional.

Until very recently Jimly Ashidique was the chief justice of Indonesia's Constitutional Court, where he remains as judge for the next few months.

He said that rulings of the constitutional court effectively change Indonesian law.

In 2004 the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to convict the Bali bombers under an anti-terrorism law enacted after those terrorist attacks.

That decision however was said not to effect sentences which have already been handed down, such as the 2003 death sentences on Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra.

However Justice Ashidique said that according to Indonesia's criminal code any change in the law after a crime is committed should be decided in favour of the accused.

"It is not fair," he said, adding that such decisions are up to judge's discretion.

Related:

Rudd firm on capital punishment stance

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the fact that he backs the death penalty for the Bali bombers in Indonesia does not signal any change in his opposition to capital punishment in Australia.

[What a contradiction in terms?]

Mr Rudd says the three men on death row in Indonesia over the bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, are cowards and mass murderers who deserve the justice that will be delivered to them.

[Wrong again: The convicted Bali bombers did not have the means to create such a bomb. There are reports that in one Balinese kampong that provided labour to the clubs in Kuta Beach, seven empty coffins were buried, because there were no identifiable remains of the missing workers. It was as if they had been vaporised. Scores of people, mainly locals, are thought to have disappeared without trace.]

Cleric blames CIA for Bali bombing
An Indonesian Islamic cleric said the 2002 attack which killed more than 200 people, including 88 Australians, was the work of the CIA.

Tears flow for Bali victims :Australia's Terrorism Wake Up Call
The horrific bombings of the Sari Club and Paddy's Bar in Bali, on October 12, 2002, considerably strengthened the hand of the Coalition of the Willing (CoW) in pursuing the War on Terror. Here was an opportunity to harden the hearts of the Australian and US public against Islamic fundamentalists. It was also a chance for the Indonesian government to justify harsh measures in the war against terrorists and secessionists, such at those in the province of Aceh.

Death penalty ban 'would help save Bali 9'
A Sydney Federal Labor backbencher says a permanent Commonwealth ban on the death penalty will help the campaign to get Australians off death row in Bali.

Death penalty ban 'would help save Bali 9'

A Sydney Federal Labor backbencher says a permanent Commonwealth ban on the death penalty will help the campaign to get Australians off death row in Bali.

The member for Werriwa, Chris Hayes, says current legislation means the death penalty could be reintroduced by the states.

He has moved a notice of motion in Federal Parliament to stop that happening.

Mr Hayes says it was the plight of the convicted drug smuggler, Scott Rush, that motivated him to action.

"What parent of an 18-year-old hasn't got concerns about the people their child mixes with or sometimes associates with?," he said.

Scott Rush and two other Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, face the death by firing squad in Indonesia.

The three Australians are members of the so-called Bali nine, who were caught trying to smuggle more than 8.2 kilograms of heroin from the resort island of Bali to Australia in 2005.

Chris Hayes says his bill also sends a clear message that Australia opposes the death penalty, increasing the diplomatic pressure on Indonesia.

It will be debated when Parliament resumes the week after next.

Rudd firm on capital punishment stance

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the fact that he backs the death penalty for the Bali bombers in Indonesia does not signal any change in his opposition to capital punishment in Australia.

[What a contradiction in terms?]

Mr Rudd says the three men on death row in Indonesia over the bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, are cowards and mass murderers who deserve the justice that will be delivered to them.

[Wrong again: The convicted Bali bombers did not have the means to create such a bomb. There are reports that in one Balinese kampong that provided labour to the clubs in Kuta Beach, seven empty coffins were buried, because there were no identifiable remains of the missing workers. It was as if they had been vaporised. Scores of people, mainly locals, are thought to have disappeared without trace.] Australia's Terrorism Wake Up Call.

He says the Bali bombers are subject to the Indonesian system, but he has said he does not believe in the death penalty in Australia or for Australians in other nations.

"That's the view of the Liberals, that's the view of the Australian Labor Party and that'll be the case into the future as well," he said.

"Also when it comes to Australians convicted of sentences abroad, both Mr Howard when he was prime minister and myself since becoming Prime Minister, we regularly intervene with foreign countries arguing the case for clemency for Australians convicted abroad."

Quote: Clearly Kevin Rudd is lost on this one. How can he not see that all people are equal? And have been created equal - no matter where they are from? How can any person create this dilemma for themselves? For himself? For our people? Basically any other foreign country would take that as an approval to execute an Australian citizen.

Related:

Push for clear line on death penalty
PRESSURE is mounting on the Rudd Government from the Labor back bench to adopt a tougher stand against the death penalty.

I had no choice, says courier facing death
AN AUSTRALIAN sentenced to death in Vietnam this week for heroin trafficking told officials she was forced into the crime to pay off her husband's gambling debts.

'Bali nine' trio's death sentences overturned
Three 'Bali nine' members still face the death penalty, including the group's ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as well as Rush, the only drug mule still sentenced to death.

Govt attacked on 'asylum' boat issue

Amnesty International: deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

Human rights groups have attacked the federal government over its treatment of a group of suspected asylum seekers intercepted en route to Australia.

An Australian naval patrol boat intercepted a vessel carrying 14 people near the Ashmore Islands, 320 kilometres off Australia's north-west coast, on Monday.

The group, including one woman, was being transferred Tuesday to Christmas Island for processing. The boat is the first to be intercepted off the coast of Australia this year.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said it appeared the boat had come from Indonesia but it was unlikely those on board were illegal fishers.

"We haven't identified their country of origin as yet. They'll be processed and interviewed on Christmas Island and it'll become clearer then," Senator Evans said.

Amnesty International said it was deeply concerned with the government's policy of taking boat people to Christmas Island.

"The detrimental impact of detaining individuals in isolated centres has been well documented and Amnesty International remains concerned for the physical and mental health of any asylum seeker taken to Christmas Island," refugee spokesman Graham Thom said.

"It is completely inappropriate to treat this group differently from other asylum seekers and it is certainly not in keeping with our international obligations to protect people who are fleeing persecution."

Senator Evans said people were continuing to seek refugee status due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East.

"There's pressure around the world with refugees seeking to find asylum, large numbers of people particularly out of Afghanistan and Iraq because of the troubled situations there."

Senator Evans said the federal government was working closely with the Indonesian government to strengthen border control and stamp out people smuggling.

Project SafeCom spokesman Jack Smit attacked Senator Evans for his "bullying" comments on border protection.

"It's time Minister Evans stops acting like (former prime minister) John Howard, and it's time he stops uttering the nonsense lines of the widely reviled former immigration minister Philip Ruddock."

Related:

Christmas Island like a prison: Amnesty
Our refugee coordinator Graham Thom, along with our national director Claire Mallinson and board vice president Jim Sharp, has just visited the new Christmas Island detention centre.

Detention centre staff 'cracked'
There were 62 cases of mental illness among former guards at the Woomera and Baxter detention centres in South Australia.

Push for clear line on death penalty

PRESSURE is mounting on the Rudd Government from the Labor back bench to adopt a tougher stand against the death penalty.

With three Australians on death row in Indonesia - including the 22-year-old convicted drug mule Scott Rush - a push is on for the Government to voice more publicly throughout the region its position as an abolitionist country.

The NSW MP Chris Hayes has lodged a notice of motion in Parliament calling on the Government to take a number of steps, including passing laws making it illegal for states and territories to reintroduce the death penalty. The current legal position means states and territories could reintroduce it, should they wish.

This would incorporate Australia's obligations under the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at the abolition of the death penalty, into domestic legislation.

Such a move, advocates believe, would send a clearer message internationally on Australia's position, and strengthen its arguments for Australians on death row overseas to be spared.

The notice of motion also calls on the Government to lobby the Indonesian Government "as and whenever appropriate" to grant clemency to the three Australian Bali Nine members on death row.

It also asks Indonesia to "understand Australia's principled position in relation to the imposition of the death penalty".

"Abhorrence of the death penalty is a fundamental value in Australian society and there is bipartisan opposition to the death penalty within the Australian Parliament," it says.

The notice of motion will be debated in Parliament in the next sitting period, in a fortnight.

The Victorian Labor MP Mark Dreyfus, who is a QC, will also argue in support of the motion.

Mr Dreyfus told the Herald yesterday "all my adult life I've been opposed to the death penalty. We have abolished the death penalty in Australia and we need to work for the abolition of the death penalty every where in the world."

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, while opposition leader, dismayed civil libertarians and supporters of Australians on death row when he censured his now-Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, for arguing for a more principled approach to the death penalty, one that opposed executions for citizens regardless of nationality or crime.

It is believed by those backing a stronger approach that it would clarify the position of Australian law enforcement agencies who co-operate in transnational investigations into crimes which attract the death penalty overseas. This follows criticism of the Australian Federal Police who were involved in the arrests of the Bali Nine.

Colin McDonald, the barrister for Rush, said: "It will then become a relevant legal consideration for the AFP in the conveyance of information that might predictably lead to the imposition of the death penalty on Australian citizens."

Two other Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of the Bali Nine, are on death row. The three men can seek a judicial review of their death sentences, and appeal to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for clemency.

Mr McDonald says Mr Hayes's notice of motion is "historically significant". Mr Hayes is the member for Werriwa. It was under the prime ministership of another member for Werriwa - Gough Whitlam - that Australia abolished the death penalty for federal offences, in 1973.

Related:

I had no choice, says courier facing death
AN AUSTRALIAN sentenced to death in Vietnam this week for heroin trafficking told officials she was forced into the crime to pay off her husband's gambling debts.

'Bali nine' trio's death sentences overturned
Three 'Bali nine' members still face the death penalty, including the group's ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as well as Rush, the only drug mule still sentenced to death.

Indonesian men cleared of fishing illegally

Fifty-five Indonesian fishermen have been cleared of fishing illegally off Australia's northern coast and will be compensated for their boats being wrongly destroyed.

Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke has told Parliament the 55 fishermen are being held in a detention centre but will be transferred to a Darwin motel today and sent home on Saturday.

Mr Burke says five of their boats were destroyed when they were caught last month and the fishermen will be compensated.

He says those still in detention will be transferred to a Darwin motel and sent back to Indonesia on Saturday.

"As can be the case in any law enforcement activity, genuine errors can be made," he said.

"Given the numbers of people involved, I did feel it was important to inform the house directly of these matters.

"The Indonesian consulate is expected to provide travel documents for this group by noon tomorrow to assist their return to Indonesia."

The Indonesia Consul in Darwin is happy with the outcome.

Harbangan Napitupulu says investigations into other Indonesian boats apprehended in April are continuing.

He says he was surprised 33 boats were apprehended across three weeks.

"We felt that perhaps there was something wrong with these apprehensions," he said.

"We met the fishermen, most of them mentioned that they are still in the Territorial water."

Aust 'drug addict' jailed in Indonesia

An Australian tourist has been sentenced to three months in prison after he was found guilty of drug use by a Bali court.

Avinash Sundhahar, 24, was arrested in a nightclub car park in the popular tourist district of Kuta in February after "receiving" 0.3 grams of methamphetamine, commonly known as speed.

"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly to have received a forbidden substance for his personal use as an addict and the defendant has been sentenced to three months in jail," the head of the panel of judges, Made Seraman, told Denpasar district court.

The court found that Sundhahar, who said he had been a methamphetamine addict for one year, had been given the drug minutes before his arrest.

Jail terms in Indonesia are often significantly lighter for drug users who can prove they are addicts. Addicts can in theory legally obtain drugs if they register with authorities.

Sundhahar's lawyer, Gede Sudiantara, said his client accepted the court's verdict.

Corby informant paid $120,000 cash, court told

A former friend of Schapelle Corby was paid "something like" $120,000 in cash by Today Tonight for a fabricated story, a defamation jury heard today.

Jodie Power was also given an all-expenses paid holiday to Canada with her two children by the current affairs show, Stuart Littlemore QCF told the NSW Supreme Court.

A defamation case brought by Mercedes Corby, sister of the jailed Schapelle Corby, opened this morning.

In his address to the jury of three men and one woman, Mr Littlemore, QC, representing Mercedes Corby, said that Today Tonight's presenter Anna Coren, reporter Bryan Seymour and the supposed informant Jodie Power had been involved in a conspiracy to fabricate an untrue story in February last year.

He said that between them they had presented Mercedes Corby, an ordinary Australian, with nothing to answer for other than being Schapelle's sister as "a drug smuggler".

Mr Littlemore said that Ms Coren and Mr Seymour had conspired to create "the most sensational program they could buy, telling lies".

He said the program had gone to air in Sydney, and the network had broadcast it all over Australia. The story had been picked up by Sky News and Ms Coren had promoted the program on 2day FM.

Mr Littlemore said Ms Power had been paid "something like $120,000 in cash" and had an all expenses paid holiday to Canada with her two children.

But Mr Littlemore said Ms Power hated Mercedes Corby, who had once been her best friend and she had celebrity status from appearing on television. She had been moved by revenge, he said.

Mr Littlemore said the unfortunate fact was that Ms Power had her own "personal problem with drugs".

The case continues today.

Related:

Corby loses sentence appeal
Convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has lost a final appeal to have her jail sentence reduced.

Corby may serve 9 more years before transfer: Indonesia
Convicted cannabis smuggler Corby has served less than four years of a 20-year sentence.

Jail work could cut Corby's sentence
THE convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby may be eligible for a prison job that could shave years off the 20-year sentence she is serving in an Indonesian jail.

Jail work could cut Corby's sentence

Schapelle Corby, left, and Renee Lawrence during a ceremony inside Kerobokan prison in Denpasar.

THE convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby may be eligible for a prison job that could shave years off the 20-year sentence she is serving in an Indonesian jail.

The departing head of Bali's Kerobokan Prison, Ilham Djaya, said yesterday Corby should be made an inmates' leader, a role that could cut 11 months a year from her sentence. Corby, who last month lost her final appeal against her sentence, was a "very good" prisoner, Mr Djaya said.

He said she should be considered for the rank of "tamping", a prisoners' supervisor, or the role of "pemuka", who oversees those with the rank of tamping.

Mr Djaya offered his support for Corby despite the former Gold Coast beauty student's controversial stint at Kerobokan.

Since her detention almost four years ago for cannabis smuggling, Corby has written a book describing the prison as a "disgusting slum". She missed out on a sentence remission last year after she was found with a mobile phone in her cell.

Corby recently denied reports aired on Australian television that she had been allowed out of prison to dine with her sister at a Bali restaurant.

Mr Djaya praised Corby and the heroin smuggler Renae Lawrence, who is also serving a 20-year term.

"Corby has a job gathering handicrafts from prisoners, like from sewing and knitting class. She has learnt everything," Mr Djaya said. "The handicrafts collected by Corby are then collected by the Buddhist Association to be sold in the market."

He said the role of pemuka would be good for a prisoner serving a lengthy sentence. "For a long-term prisoner like Renae or Corby it would be very good to be a pemuka," he said.

Mr Djaya described Lawrence as extraordinary. "She does her jobs very well," he said, adding that Lawrence had performed tasks such as fixing taps and cleaning. "Even the sewer, she is willing to clean it."

Mr Djaya was formally replaced yesterday by the incoming prison governor, Yon Suharyono, at a ceremony inside the prison complex.

Corby's lawyer, Erwin Siregar, who attended the prison ceremony, told reporters he had yet to decide whether to seek clemency for Corby from Indonesia's President. He was also still considering whether to seek another final appeal, even though Indonesian law makes no provision for this.

Corby loses sentence appeal

Convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has lost a final appeal to have her jail sentence reduced.

Indonesia's Supreme Court has ruled that the original 20-year jail sentence should stand.

Corby is serving the sentence at Kerobokan jail in Bali after more than four kilograms of marijuana was found in her bodyboard bag at Denpasar Airport in 2004.

Her best hope for an early return home may be through a prisoner transfer treaty being negotiated with Indonesia.

'Bali nine' trio's death sentences overturned

Sydney man Matthew Norman and the rest of the 'Malasti three' previously had their sentences increased to the death penalty.

Three of the 'Bali nine' drug couriers have had their death sentences reduced to life in jail.

Matthew Norman, Thanh Duc Tan Nguyen and Si Yi Chen were known as the 'Malasti three' because they were arrested in a hotel of that name on April 17, 2005.

The trio had their sentences increased to the death penalty by Indonesia's Supreme Court in August of 2006.

Now, a different panel of judges within the same Supreme Court has decided on their final appeal, known as judicial reviews, and reduced their death sentences to life imprisonment.

The decision is also positive for fellow drug courier Scott Rush, who is yet to lodge his final appeal.

Rush given fresh hope in death penalty fight

A lawyer for convicted drug smuggler Scott Rush hopes he will be spared the death penalty now that three fellow members of the 'Bali nine' have had their sentences reduced to life in prison.

Six of the 'Bali nine' were facing death by firing squad in Indonesia, but now Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Matthew Norman, who were arrested in Bali's Melasti hotel with a quantity of heroin in 2005, have had their death sentences reduced to life in prison by Indonesia's Supreme Court.

Three 'Bali nine' members still face the death penalty, including the group's ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, as well as Rush, the only drug mule still sentenced to death.

He is represented by Darwin-based QC Colin McDonald, who is hopeful about Rush's case.

"Scott's case is even better than the 'Melasti three'," he said.

Rush has not yet filed his final appeal.

Rush's father, Lee, says the success of the appeal is a good opportunity for his son, but the family is remaining cautious.

"Definitely, I think there's an opportunity there, but we're dealing with the unknown," he said.

"We've had them up before and you go down again. So we don't want to get our hopes up."


Fight for life: Scott Rush behind bars

Related:

Conference/Prison/Restorative Justice/Human Rights

Discovering Balance - Prison Reform, Restorative Justice & Human Rights
2nd to 4th October 2008
Murdoch University, South Street Campus, Western Australia

The Institute for Restorative Justice & Penal Reform together with the Centre for Social & Community Research at Murdoch University is organising and hosting ‘Discovering Balance…’, an international conference to explore issues relating to penal reform, restorative justice and human rights. The conference will include presentations, discussions, and workshops covering a wide range of topics and issues including the impact of imprisonment on individuals and communities, restorative justice processes as an alternative to adversarial approaches, and the concept of restorative prisons.

Key Themes and Plenary Sessions
Prisoner rehabilitation•
Victims’ rights and restorative processes•
Human rights in custodial settings•
Indigenous Australians and the criminal justice system•
Restorative prisons•
Restorative justice processes and juveniles•
Restorative processes and human rights in a punitive society•
Prison reform, the media and the public•

Confirmed Speakers
Professor Andrew Coyle
International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London
Baroness Vivien Stern
International Centre for Prison Studies, Kings College, London
Professor John Pratt
Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington, NZ

The conference organising committee is interested in receiving abstracts or proposals for presentations from a wide range of delegates including activists, researchers, academics, interested individuals, community organisations, and students. Further details will be available shortly, however paper abstracts/proposals will be restricted to 150 words or less.
More information about the conference including details about presentation format, key dates, and abstract submission and registration procedures will be available from the conference web site.
For updates about the conference visit
http://irjpr.net.au/conference/
or email Theo Mackaay at
conference@irjpr.net.au

Corby may serve 9 more years before transfer: Indonesia

Convicted cannabis smuggler Corby has served less than four years of a 20-year sentence.

The convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby could still spend another nine years in an Indonesian prison under a prisoner transfer treaty being negotiated with Australia.

There are still eight sticking points in negotiations between Australia and Indonesia over a prisoner transfer agreement which has been under discussion for several years.

Indonesia's Justice Department spokesman Kolier Haryanto says that Indonesia wants Australian prisoners to serve two-thirds of their sentences before being eligible for transfer.

Convicted cannabis smuggler Corby has served less than four years of a 20-year sentence and so will not be eligible for transfer for another nine years, if Indonesia gets its way.

Both countries agree that all appeals must be also be exhausted before transfers can be considered.

A decision on Corby's final appeal against her sentence is expected in the next few weeks.