DROGA: CORRIERE AUSTRALIANO SARA IMPICCATO A SINGAPORE

SYDNEY, Sara' giustiziato nelle prossime settimane, l'australiano di origine vietnamita arrestato all'aeroporto di Singapore, nel dicembre del 2002, con quasi 400 grammi di eroina addosso.

Nguyen Tuong Van, 25 anni, stava trasportando la droga dalla Cambogia fino a Melbourne, ma un controllo all'aeroporto di Singapore aveva fatto scoprire i 396 grammi di eroina, divisa tra bagaglio a mano e bustine fasciate attorno al torace. Nguyen aveva detto di aver accettato di portare la droga per pagare i debiti contratti dal suo gemello, a Melbourne. Il ministro degli esteri australiano, Alexander Downer, ha dichiarato oggi che ''Nguyen sara' impiccato nelle prossime settimane, e nulla potra' salvarlo. Singapore prevede la pena di morte per il traffico di eroina e il governo e' stato chiaro: il processo e' finito, non ci saranno altri appelli''.

Gli avvocati del giovane oggi hanno rilasciato un comunicato nel quale dicono che ''la sentenza e' del tutto sproporzionata al crimine commesso.

Le uniche persone a trarre beneficio da questa decisione sono i criminali che hanno ingaggiato Van e che sanno che con la sua morte le loro malefatte resteranno impunite''.

La madre di Van era scappata dal Vietnam da sola, una delle prime ''boat people'' ad arrivare in Australia, nel 1980. I suoi figli, due gemelli maschi, erano rimasti in un campo per rifugiati in transito per quattro mesi, prima di essere ammessi in Australia. Negli ultimi dieci anni a Singapore sono stati impiccati 400 trafficanti di droga. (ANSA) COR 21-OTT-05 12:01 ++ Death row Australian loses clemency bid

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Australian man  faces imminent death by hanging, for smuggling of heroin.

A plea for presidential clemency for Melbourne man Nguyen Tuong Van has been turned down in Singapore. Nguyen was caught in Singapore trying to smuggle almost 400 grams of heroin from Cambodia to Australia three years ago. The Australian Government had appealed for clemency for Nguyen, who has been on death row in Changi prison since being sentenced in March last year. He now faces execution, possibly within 10 days. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia had done it's utmost to save Nguyen's life.

"We are very sad that this has happened," Mr Downer said. "We have done our best, we have done everything we can to save his life." Nguyen's Australian lawyers described the decision as "devastating for him, his family and friends".

Lex Lasry QC said Nguyen had always admitted his guilt and given constructive help to authorities including the Australian Federal Police. "The decision appears to pay no heed to the provisions of the Singapore Constitution that make specific reference and provide for clemency to those who assist the authorities with information which can be used to prosecute others," he said. Mr Lasry called on the Singapore Government to reverse its decision. Nguyen was sentenced to death last year after being found guilty by a Singapore court of smuggling almost 400 grams of heroin from Cambodia via Singapore.

He was found to have 396 grams of heroin strapped to his back and also in his hand luggage. Nguyen said he had the drugs because he was trying to raise money to clear debts incurred by his twin brother. Mr Downer said Australia had pleaded for clemency via Prime Minister John Howard, Governor General Michael Jeffery and himself.

Nguyen is set to become the fourth Australian sentenced to death by Asian countries on drug charges, following the hanging of Brian Chambers and Kevin Barlow in Malaysia in 1986. In a lesser-known case, Queenslander Michael McAuliffe died by hanging in Malaysia in June 1993 after serving eight years in jail. In Singapore, the death sentence is mandatory for drug smuggling and more than 400 people have been executed there in the past 10 years. Australia's Council for Civil Liberties says Singapore executes more people per capita than any other country in the world.

Two other Australians are currently facing the death penalty after being convicted of heroin-related charges - both in Vietnam. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd called on the Singaporean cabinet to reconsider its position. "Singapore law provides for mercy to be sought and we strongly believe that mercy should be applied in the case of this young Australian," he said in a statement. "We appeal to the individual members of the Singaporean cabinet to find it in their hearts to save this man's life. "While drug trafficking is a very serious crime and we respect Singapore's right to protect its citizens from such crimes, we do not believe that putting a young man to death in these circumstances serves any purpose." Mr Rudd expressed his sympathy to Nguyen's family. "This is a truly tragic case and our hearts go out to this young Australian and his poor mother in Melbourne," he said. "We will do everything in our power to ask the Singaporean government to reconsider this decision." Nguyen's mother fled Vietnam alone in a boat in 1980 and had her twin sons in a transit camp in Malaysia before being accepted into Australia four months later.

 

Dear Mr. President Your Excellency    I am writing to express my deep concern over a ruling that sentenced to death Mr Nguyen Tuong Van   In the largest part of Countries all over the world, drug possession is punished just by imprisonment, as an attestation of the negligible significance universally recognized to such a crime. I urge you to intervene on his behalf to prevent this cruel and inhuman punishment from being meted out against him. I implore you to ensure that this cruel and inhuman sentence is not carried out and to commute the death sentence into a life imprisonment. Respectfully Yours   (signature and date)