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Australians to face life sentence in Indonesia on drug smuggling charges
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at 5:13 on February 13, 2006, EST.
Australian Renae Lawrence weeps inside a court's cell after her trial in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia on Monday. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
BALI, Indonesia (AP) - Two Australians were sentenced to life in an Indonesian prison on drug smuggling charges Monday, after judges dismissed claims they taped heroin to their bodies only after receiving death threats.
Renae Lawrence and Scott Rush were the first of nine Australians to be sentenced for their alleged role in a drug ring that reportedly tried to traffic 8.3 kilograms of heroin from the Indonesian resort island of Bali to Australia last April.
The Denpasar District Court ignored a request by prosecutors to show leniency to Lawrence, the only woman in the group dubbed the "Bali Nine" by the Australian media, and to sentence her to 20 years in prison.
Judges said they did not believe the 28-year-old, seized at the Bali airport with 2.3 kilograms of heroin strapped to her body, became a drug mule only after her life was threatened.
We "found no proof that she was in a forced position when she received the heroin from Andrew Chan," the group's alleged ringleader, the panel of three judges said in handing down the life sentence.
Lawrence showed no emotion as the verdict was read, and her lawyer said she had not yet decided whether to appeal the decision or seek a presidential pardon.
In a separate trial, judges also sentenced 20-year-old Rush to life behind bars.
He was arrested at Bali's airport with 1.3 kilograms of drugs taped to his legs.
Rush alleged during his trial that the masterminds of the drug smuggling ring threatened to kill him and his family if he did not carry the heroin to Sydney, but judges said Monday they didn't believe him.
The trials of the Bali Nine are the latest of several drug cases involving Australians in Indonesia.
Last year, Australian lingerie model Michelle Leslie, 24, was sentenced to three months in jail for using drugs. Former beautician Schapelle Corby, 28, was sentenced to 20 years for smuggling marijuana onto the island.
