Whose Idea of Justice Is This?

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/04/23/scott_rush_wideweb__430x312.jpg

I know that a number of my regular readers are not from Australia, so I will try to explain the situation as best and as accurately as I can through various references.
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The Facts
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Those from Australia will certainly know this subject very well. It is contraversial, current and worst of all, heartbreaking. A person would not be considered human if he or she didnt feel at least a little saddened by this story. On 17 April 2005, four people were arrested at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, on suspicion of drug trafficking. After they were arrested, and stripped, they were carrying more than eight kilograms of heroin, strapped to their bodies with masking tape. A further five people were arrested at other locations for being involved in the operation.
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It has since been alleged that the three men and one woman were employed by the members of the drug operation to act as "drug mules". Having not been informed of the reason why they were being sent to Bali by these people until they arrived, they were then told that if they didnt traffic the heroin back into Australia, their family members would be killed. Afraid, the four young adults felt that they had no option than to carry the drugs.
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Is It A Crime to Be Naive?

One of the young men, Mr. Scott Rush, was a good looking, friendly young man who had somehow gotten caught up in the "wrong crowd". If you believe their stories, Scott had allegedly been informed by his friend that he had just sold his bakery and had some extra money. As a present, Scott and his friend Michael (who was also arrested) would be taken to Bali for a "free holiday". Scott and Michael were naive. No one doubts that they were silly to have believed that it was as simple as a "free holiday". But being "naive" was never a crime.
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Scott's family accidently found out that he had a flight booked for him to Bali when the travel agent telephoned their house for Scott. They were immediately suspicious. Scott had barely any money, and he did not even own a passport. Afraid of what their son had gotten himself involved in, his parents asked their lawyer for assistance. Their lawyer suggested that they inform the Australian Federal Police, in hope that the AFP would stop Scott and his friend Michael from getting on the plane.
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The Involvement of the Australian Federal Police
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After the AFP were informed by Scott's parents about the possibility of suspicious activity, the AFP informed Scott's parents that they would stop Scott from getting on the plane.

However, they didnt stop Scott or Michael. They allowed them to go to Indonesia, be threatened by the traffickers, be forced to strap heroin to their bodies in fear of their lives, and their family's lives. Scott and Michael were arrested, as was Renae Lawrence and Martin Stephens. They had used Scott, Michael, Renae and Martin as their own mules - mules that would leave them to the "bigger fish" of the operation.
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Scott and Renae were sentenced to life in an Indonesian jail today. The Indonesian judges failed to accept that they did not know they were trafficking drugs when they went to Bali. Martin and Michael are to be sentenced tomorrow. Some of the Bali Nine are expected to be sentenced to death by firing squad.
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Criticism of the Australian Federal Police
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Wikipedia explains:
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"Several parents of the accused criticised the Australian Federal Police for allowing the Indonesian police to arrest the nine, rather than allowing them to fly to Australia and arresting them in Sydney. Terry O'Gorman, president of the Australian Council of Civil Liberties, said that that Australian police had unnecessarily exposed the nine to the possibility of the death penalty. "This is despite the fact that the AFP was the primary investigator and that the end point for the alleged crime was Australia," he said. "It is unexplained why the AFP agreed to hand the case over to the Indonesians with such potentially grave consequences for those arrested."
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"...Scott Rush, Renae Lawrence, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj all began legal proceedings in Australia against the Australian Federal Police. Lawyers argued the Australian Federal Police had acted illegally by tipping off Indonesian police with information leading to the arrest of the accused in Bali, and also knowingly exposing them to the death penalty. Federal Court judges dismissed the claims in January, 2006 ..."
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This Isnt Fair
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I know that I will have a tough time convincing people that these young adults didnt deserve what they got.
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But I have a heavy heart when I see the pain in Scott's eyes and the regret that he feels for getting involved in this situation. No kid the age of 19 deserves to be living this kind of hell, because he made one stupid decision.
These kids arent the people that the police should be wasting their time trying to punish. These are merely drug mules. They knew no better. If they want to stop the heroin problem in this world, they need to spend their time and money on finding those higher in the hierachy, not ruin the lives of kids just looking for a holiday.
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I am angry that the Australian Federal Police are going to get away with this. When they were tipped off by Scott Rush's parents, they should have taken it upon themselves to lawfully stop those kids from leaving Australia. Instead, they waited for them to do the crime and arrest them. Its like watching someone who is attacking another with a knife, waiting until the victim is dead and then arrest the person for murder.
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What was there for the AFP to gain by doing this?
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A closer relationship with the Indonesian police.... political motivations.... it makes me sick.
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As a result of the actions of the AFP, four young australian adults are committed to spending the rest of their lives in a jail which reflects that of a third world country. Good, you say? Serves them right for getting mixed up in the wrong crowd? Its not as simple as that. It cant be as simple as that. If their stories are correct, then they were just pawns in a huge big game. They were naive. They were threatened with their lives. They were offered free holidays. When you are more or less destitute, with low self esteem and struggling to make ends meet, you are more susceptible to these "opportunities of a life time".
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The AFP should have done the right thing by their citizens and allow these young adults to arrive home on Australian soil and then arrest them, rather than leave them at the mercy of a judicial system which has a strict "death by firing squad" policy for any person caught trafficking drugs. Indonesia thinks they are doing these kids a favour by sparing them of the death penalty, but by leaving them in those cells in Indonesia to rot may as well be the death penalty.
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If you are interested in this sad story, please visit http://www.abc.net.au/austory/default.htm, which aired a special tonight at 9pm on our television.
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Tonight, I go to bed with a heavy heart.
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