Three cheers for Mirko Bagaric.
I find it difficult to believe the heartless stupidity of people like Kay. What if it was your daughter facing years of rotting away in an Indonesian gaol? For two tablets?Probably you'd be the first to scream for help from our government.
The very least we have a right to expect is that our government will use all its considerable influence to protect us from blatantly unjust and excessive punishment overseas, even if we have been a little stupid.
But Mirko - your support for torture seems at odds with your concern for human rights and justice now!
Noel

I have to agree with noel, and I also support the thrust of Bagaric's article. Yes, she broke a law by taking drugs, as she would here (or any country I can think of, offhand). However, the penalty for such an offence in Indonesia is out of all proportion to the damage done by the commission of the offence. At worst, this young Australian has taken a couple of pills that made her feel good.

So bloody what?

The utter hypocritical futility of the prohibition of some drugs but not others is such an incredible waste of time, energy, resources and - worst of all - people's lives.

Australia should lead the way in decriminalising these victimless offences, and IMHO should develop a system of standardisation and regulation of 'recreational' drugs. People will always use them and produce them, so a rational legislative approach would focus more on identifying and dealing with problems associated with endemic drug use, rather than destroying the lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid. How is jailing a naive kid in unspeakable conditions going to affect the illegal drug trade in the slightest way? Answer: zip, zilch, zero.

Like someone above has said, imagine if it was your daughter in an Indonesian jail for an 'offence' that at most would result in a slap on the wrist in any humane judicial system, unlike the draconian penalties faced by admittedly "stupid" young people seeking thrills and adventure in countries like Indonesia.

Get real and have a heart.

If Mirko thinks that international human rights activists could help him if he were caught with a prescribed amount of heroin in Singapore, I believe that he would be sadly dissappointed. About the only last wish they would entertain would be a request that the only music played in the prison on the night before the execution would be swing.

Those on the left who think that globalisation will result in the spreading of soft western values around the world should realise that international law only has any effect anywhere to the extent that it is validated by national law. Different societies have different values, and should be respected for it. Long live the sovereign state!

Duck et al

I am real and I have a heart.

Indonesian laws are their laws. There is no way in bloody hell that we can change them. They are horrendous. For God's sake. I did not say that I believe in shooting, long term gaol and stuff. We cannot change their laws - not in this lifetime. I wish we could. We have to live with their draconian and horrible laws.

Don't go there if you are gonna take illicit drugs!

Use all of the drugs you like in Aussie! Get real. Grow your own hydro. Snort your nostrils out. I don't give a damn about your personal choice here.

I am not against illicit drug use in Aussie. At least you know what you are not in for here - slap on the knuckles.

People who choose to go to barbaric countries and who still choose to defy their barbaric laws have to bare the consequences - including any children that I might have.

If people really want a wonderful holiday in the South Pacific - why not Fiji, Samoa, Ni Vanuatu? Wonderful places and wonderful people.
Who will know that you are snorting under the palms? Who would want to anyway? You can get "hiigh" on the people and their culture.

Get real.

Cheers
Kay

"Australia should lead the way in decriminalising these victimless offences". You either dont know anyone whose used any kind of mind altering drug, or you have a very loose definition of the word victimless. I dont neccesarilly disagree with decriminilisation, but only if it actually leads to a better outcome for society. And personally, i dont think it would. Governments, community groups, family and friends will continue picking up the pieces and trying to repair the shattered, meaningless lives of drug addicts.

Obviously not every illicit drug user is an addict, and if you want to use illegal drugs, like alot of people do at some stage in their life, fine. Know the consequences and be prepared to take responsibility for yourself when you take it to far and dont kid yourself into thinking it's a victimless crime. And as for the comment, "imagine if it was your daughter blah blah blah". If it was, i'd do everything i could to get her out, but i most certainly would not expect my government to do anything about it by trying to have the law changed. I'd be dissapointed that she'd thought it a good idea to take drugs into a country with laws like that and perhaps regretted not doing a better job bringing her up to take responsibility for her actions (assuming she hadnt already taken that risk into consideration).

I strongly agree with plerdsus, sovereign states are just that, they make the law and you respect it, right or wrong. If you cant abide by the law, dont enter the country.

Yeah I'm with Kay, and Weapon too. Whilst reading Kay's post, I never got any impression that she was being heartless nor stupid. Realistic, I would have thought.

Its high time we started to take responsiblilty for our own actions, and stop blaming the legal systems of other countries, each time an Australian gets busted for drugs in Indonesia or where ever. I would also try to do all I could if it were my child, and most people would. Laws are laws and these differ according to national borders. We all know the risks, or we all should by now.

Secondly I thought a similar thing to you Kay, when Michelle Leslie was suddenly appearing in full Muslim dress and proclaiming she is a Muslim. Perhaps she is, and obviously a 'moderate' one at that. It did however, appear to be some sort of rash attempt to appeal to the hearts of the Indonesians. I am not sure what they thought they would have achieved, as such a stunt would only make matters worse for the girl. Didn't her Indonesian lawyer also walk away from the case, due to "unrealistic expectations" from the Leslie family? Hmmm... there's more to this case than a couple of eckky tabs...

Cheers :)