Meet the Bali Nine: Eight drug convicts, their decision landed them the death penalty and a stay on Indonesia’s scariest island. While some countries may not believe in or practice the death penalty, Indonesia is doesn’t hesitate to punish those guilty of illegal acts. Those who live there may not be all that afraid, but those who travel to the country are sure to not break any laws out of fear of being banished to the “Indonesian Alctraz.”
Despite the legal appeals and pleas from the Australian government for clemency, members of the Bali Nine have been executed in Indonesia by a firing squad. The prisoners that were executed included Australians, Brazilians, Nigerians, and one Indonesian. Among the group of foreigners, were Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, the leaders of The Bali Nine. The Bali Nine was known for their plan to smuggle 8.3 kg of heroin from Indonesia to Australia. After their arrests in April 2005, trials were held and each was sentenced to death. The group included, Andrew Chan, Myruan Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush Micheal Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence, Matthew Norma and Martin Stephens.
The plan was to execute nine prisoners, but Mary Jane Veloso from the Philippines was granted a stay of execution. Her stay was granted due to a request made by the Philippine government for her assistance on a human trafficking case that involved a woman who surrendered to police on Tuesday. The executions took place on Nusa Kambangan, which is also known as Execution Island or the Indonesian Alcatraz. According to Indonesian law, when people are sentenced to the death penalty it is carried out by a 12-man firing squad, but there are only three guns that are loaded.
The prisoners are given the option of whether they want to to stand or sit during their execution. They also have the option of wearing a hood, blindfold or nothing over their eyes. Shots are then fired at the hearts from a distance of 5 to 10 metes.
It seems Indonesia’s method of execution harsh compared to those of other countries.
The Bali Nine execution reveals some graphic things about the Indonesian legal system. For those travelers gunning to head to Southeast Asia for a vacation, take a look at Bangkok, Thailand’s culinary adventures, watch this video for a lighter ingestion:
https://youtu.be/Hp4hQwygABM
