Families seek confirmation of Bali nine sentences

The families of four Bali nine drug mules, who have reportedly been sentenced to death on appeal, say they are in the dark on the verdicts.

A report in today's Fairfax newspapers says Scott Rush, Tan Duc Tahn Nguyen, Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman have been sentenced to death after appealing for lighter jail sentences.

Indonesian prosecutors had only asked for life sentences for the four.

Scott Rush's father, Lee, has told ABC Radio's AM he first found out about his son's death sentence when contacted by a reporter last night.

"We received a phone call late last night from a media source in Sydney [that said] that our son's sentence had been upgraded to death penalty," he said.

"We were quite dumbfounded, it came totally out of the blue, we did not expect this decision at all."

Lee Rush has confirmed there was an appeal being heard in the Supreme Court in Jakarta.

"That is true. We've never fully understood the Indonesian law and their method of delivering verdicts, and we're even more dumbfounded now," he said.

He says he has not spoken to his son or his lawyers.

"We've put messages to our lawyers, but it's our understanding that he [the lawyer] wasn't advised also," he said.
Government confirmation sought

Lee Rush says the next step is yet to be decided.

"We're waiting on confirmation from the Australian Government on this finding," he said.

"I'd prefer not to make any further comment until we have some confirmation some the Australian Government and also our lawyer in Indonesia, or Scott's lawyer in Indonesia."

The Federal Government says it is yet to receive confirmation of the reports.

A spokesman for the Justice Minister Chris Ellison says Australian Federal Police have not been able to confirm what he describes as media speculation.

Brisbane barrister Bob Myers, who is a friend of the Rush family, says he hopes the news is not true.

"It doesn't seem to be confirmed from any official source at this stage," he said.

"But if it's true, then obviously I'm devastated.

"But it's not my devastation that anyone need be concerned about - it's the devastation for the families, obviously for the individuals involved."
Verdicts 'unusual'

International law expert Professor Don Rothwell says the decision to upgrade the sentences to execution is not surprising, given the track record of the Indonesian courts in imposing heavy penalties on drug trafficking.

But he says it is unusual because the prosecutors in the case were not seeking the death penalty.

"So to that end this is consistent with the very strong approach that this Government in Indonesia has been taking on drug and trafficking," he said.

"Nevertheless it really is quite extraordinary for the death sentences to be imposed when the original prosecutors weren't even seeking them."

The nine were arrested in Bali in April last year as they attempted to smuggle nearly nine kilograms of heroin into Australia.

ABC News Online