AUSTRALIA. PLEA TO PM ON THE NINE

Australian lawyers for the Bali Nine 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, Queensland barrister Robert Meyers said he was optimistic about an official plea for clemency after two meetings with government ministers.
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. A longtime friend of the Rush family, Meyers contacted the Australian Federal Police in April 2005, telling them Rush was planning to get involved in "drug-related matters" in Indonesia. Acting on instructions from Rush's parents, Lee and Christine, Meyers hoped the teenager would be stopped by police and "scared off" before going to Bali. The tip-off was the subject of a Federal Court action launched by Rush and co-accused Renae Lawrence, 27, in which it was alleged the Australian Federal Polica 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 claimed AFP officers broke the law by exposing Mr Rush and Ms Lawrence to possible death sentences.