And somehow you are supposed to sympathise with them.
In certain cases it is just about impossible to offer any sympathy at all. Over the past couple of decades there have been "British" and "German" nationals executed in the United States for murder. When you check out their history, it is very quickly apparent that they spent the vast majority of their lives in the United States, were to all intents and purposes American, and the use of the other nationality was a ploy to avoid the serious penalty that they were facing.
In most other cases where the individual was caught red-handed by the local police force, no sympathy should be forthcoming. A criminal offence is committed in a certain place, then the infraction should be considered locally before the appropriate court , sentence meted out as appropriate to the laws in situ and the individual should serve the sentence in the place appropriate to where the crime was committed.
I saw a report a few years ago where over 30 UK nationals were serving long sentences in Thailand for serious drug offences. Certain individuals in the UK were pressing for the sentences to be served in their home country.
One is predisposed to ask why exactly. Prisons in the UK are maybe softer than they are in Thailand?
EMWIV!
If you do not commit the crime you do not get punished in the first place. If you go to someone else's country fully intent upon flouting the rules and you get caught then you should expect to be punished according to the laws in place. What sympathy do you deserve?
And prisons there are tough and uncompromising places? This, my friend (?), is punishment, it is not a holiday camp. They should also offer rehabilitation programmes, but that is a separate issue. If you hadn't insulted their hospitality in the first place, you wouldn't find yourself stuck in the desperate situation in which you find yourself now! And it is not the business of your compatriots to bale you either - you have besmirched their name and the name of their country (if that is so important) by your activities, why should they support you?
For the UK nationals who are still not on board with me on this issue, remember the British paedophiles who got long sentences for their activities in the Philippines a few years ago - would you have wanted them back in the UK to serve their sentences?
These rules I personally believe apply in 99.99% of all cases (drat, there goes my liberal reputation again!).
I have allowed for 1 case in 10,000 to fall outside those guidelines.
So try this recent story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21137649
I have no problem with the woman being tried. I can understand why the need for the sentence also exists.
At the same time it is clear that the Indonesian authorities did not handle the case well. That interrogation was carried out without the aid of a translator and there was no consular access for 10 days is indicative of sloppy procedure. There is also the fact that she is subject to mental illness and was in fear with regard to members of her family.
A prison sentence should still be applied though.
What also should be involved here:
1. The British authorities should talk to the woman and identify exactly which members of her family were threatened by the gang who used her as a mule.
2. Protection should be offered to them on a 24/7 basis.
3. Once this protection is in place, she should then be asked to name names - the member(s) of the gang mentioned above.
4. The police (Interpol if it crosses borders) should be asked to hunt down the individuals concerned.
5. When caught they should be handed over to the Indonesian authorities and expect no mercy from them.
6. The assistance of the woman here involved should be taken into account with regard to the sentence that she has to serve.
Sympathy is still limited, but better and more effective use of the law, both local and international, will apply. And hopefully we will not be sacrificing the life of a small fish while the bigger fish swim free.
Postscript (December 29th, 2021). I could write a very long item on this, but anyway.
Since this blog went to sleep we have had the case of the morons who left their home countries and went to fight for ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Many were captured and held by the Kurds. Despite the fact that what these individuals did (participating in the attempt to overthrow, illegally, a government), some people think that they should be returned to their home countries to face indictments.
The French government have taken the stand that as the crimes were committed in Iraq and Syria, they should be prosecuted there. I agree entirely! They may face the death penalty? Since when has anyone joining ISIS allegedly been afraid of facing death anyway? Martyrdom. It is part of the culture.
I don't see the difference between what these (often vicious, brutal) religious fanatics did and what European drug smugglers did in Thailand - or for that matter, Singapore! You committed a very serious crime in a foreign country, you had no right to be there in any case, so you face what the local authorities decide.
I am opposed to the death penalty? Usually, but I am also going to show no sympathy to murderous thugs who should have stayed away in the first place. They can stew in their own juice!
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