Security tightened at RI mission after death threat
Security tightened at RI mission after death threat
Agence France-Presse, Perth, Australia
Security at the Indonesian consulate in Perth was tightened on
Wednesday after the mission received a threat saying staff would
be killed unless an Australian woman on trial for drug
trafficking in Bali was released immediately.
The anonymous death threat -- sent along with two bullets --
arrived at the consulate a few days ago.
Police have not revealed details of the letter, but it
referred to Schapelle Corby, an Australian woman accused of
smuggling marijuana into Bali and whose case has received
widespread publicity here.
"If Schapelle Corby is not released immediately you will all
receive one of these bullets through the brain," The Australian
newspaper quoted the letter as saying.
Western Australian police, who are handling the threat, have
"upped the ante" on security for consulate staff, assistant
commissioner Dave Caporn said.
"Obviously, the Schapelle Corby case has stirred the emotions
of Australians. Everyone has their own view on whether she is
guilty or not guilty," he said.
"This person has taken it to the next level... we are taking
significant measures to make sure these people (staff) are safe."
Justice Minister Chris Ellison said those responsible for the
threat would be brought to justice.
"This sort of action where you make threats to Indonesians in
Australia is totally un-Australian, it's totally unacceptable,
and I can assure the Indonesian government that we will
investigate this fully to ensure that we bring the perpetrators
to justice," Ellison told Channel Nine television.
Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman Yuri Thamrin told the
Australian that consulate staff had reported the threat to
Australian police.
"It's a very serious threat, of course they're upset," he
said.
Corby, a 27-year-old beauty therapist from Queensland's Gold
Coast, faces possible death by firing squad after being caught
with 4.1 kilograms of cannabis in her unlocked bodyboard bag at
Bali's airport last October.
Corby has denied placing the drugs in her luggage.
Her legal team has produced a witness claiming Corby was
unwittingly used as a courier by drug traffickers working with
baggage handlers at airports on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.
Bali prosecutors will present their sentencing submissions to
the court on Thursday. It is not known whether they will seek the
death penalty.
Canberra has said it will seek clemency if Corby is sentenced
to death and will also examine the possibility of her serving any
sentence handed down in Australia.
The incident comes as Canberra and Jakarta work on improving
ties, strained in recent years but markedly improved since
Australia led relief work after the devastating tsunami that
wrecked Indonesia's Aceh province in December.