AMNESTY CRITICISES INDONESIA DEATH PENALTY RULING

Amnesty International described as "disappointing" an Indonesian court's decision upholding the death penalty for drugs smuggling offences. The organisation spoke out after a judge ruled that three Australians who are convicted heroin smugglers could not challenge their death sentences because they were not Indonesian. "It is particularly disappointing that this ultimate and extreme penalty is now being upheld," said Louise Vischer, coordinator of its Asia Pacific anti-death penalty regional project. "It is legitimate for the Indonesia government to take appropriate law-enforcement measures against drug offenders but there is no scientific evidence showing that the death penalty deters would-be traffickers more effectively than other punishments." Australians Scott Rush, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan and two Indonesian nationals, Edith Sianturi and Rani Andriani, brought the legal challenge. The Indonesians' petitions were also denied in their entirety. Amnesty called on Indonesia to abolish the death penalty and said it was particularly concerned about the fate of three men convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings who face the death penalty. Imam Samudra and brothers Amrozi and Ali Ghufron have reportedly said that they will not seek presidential clemency.