German Woman Avoids Death Penalty |
Posted by FoM on March 28, 2002 at 10:44:03 PT By Alexa Olesen, Associated Press Writer Source: Associated Press Singapore - A German woman accused of trafficking drugs in Singapore no longer faces the death sentence after charges against her were reduced in pretrial court proceedings Thursday. The case of Julia Suzanne Bohl, 23, had brought this island nation's policy of hanging convicted drug dealers into the international spotlight. Accused of belonging to a ring that supplied drugs to bars and nightclubs in Singapore, Bohl was initially charged with trafficking 687 grams (24.23 ounces) of marijuana, an amount for which the death sentence is mandatory. If convicted on that charge, she would have become only the second Westerner here to face execution for a drug-related crime. But a court revised the charges against her and three alleged Singaporean accomplices on Thursday, saying that tests had revealed that a stash of drugs seized by police was not as pure as originally believed. All four now face minimum sentences of 10 years if convicted of three lesser trafficking charges. Standing handcuffed before the judge, Bohl seemed calm as several pages of revised charges were read to her. She had cried during her previous two court appearances "We are very relieved and we thank all the people that have been hoping with us and still hope with us," her father, Wolfgang Bohl, told reporters afterward. Germany, which prohibits execution under its constitution, had been expected to lobby strongly against a death penalty for the young woman. Bail, which had previously been denied, was set Thursday at 150,000 Singapore dollars (dlrs 82,420) on condition that her passport be impounded upon release. Bohl's parents, who are divorced, did not say whether they planned to post bail. Her lawyer Subhas Anandan said that he was "quite happy" with the court's decision. He said that he planned to contest all the charges against his client. Trafficking more than 500 grams (17.64 ounces) of marijuana or 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of heroin carry a mandatory death sentence in Singapore. Singapore has hanged at least 340 people — most for drug offenses — since 1975, when the death penalty became mandatory for drug traffickers and murderers. Authorities say that the city-state's low crime rate and stability are due to its tough attitude toward crime. In August 1994, Dutchman Johannes Van Damme became the first Westerner to hang for drug offenses in Singapore, despite pleas for clemency from the Dutch government and Holland's Queen Beatrix. Van Damme was caught in 1991 at Singapore's Changi Airport with about 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of heroin in his suitcase. Bohl and her alleged accomplices — Sunaiza Binte Hamzah, 22, Hamdan Mohamad, 33, and Mahdi Ibrahim Bamadhaj, 21 — are accused of trafficking 281.6 grams (9.93 ounces) of marijuana; 382.2 grams (13.48 ounces) of tetrahydrocannibol and cannibinol; and 25 grams (0.88 ounces) of methamphetamine. Tetrahydrocannibol or THC is the psychoactive chemical found in cannabis. Bohl also faces one charge of consumption of the tranquilizer ketamine and 10 charges of possession of a number of drugs, including speed and ketamine. She spent most of her teen-age years in Singapore, where her parents used to live, and recently completed studies at the Singapore German School. Complete Title: German Woman Has Drug-Trafficking Charges Reduced Avoids Death Penalty Source: Associated Press CannabisNews Justice Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
Comment #5 posted by krutch on March 28, 2002 at 16:27:03 PT:
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I agree with Imprint. Any country that jails or executes you for possession of a plant is not a country where I wish to live. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #4 posted by Imprint on March 28, 2002 at 13:31:39 PT |
340 executions in less than 27 years just isn’t something to brag about; that’s 12.6 executions per year. 340 dead, 340 families devastated, I don’t consider this to be a successful drug law. Doesn’t seem to work as a deterrent. It’s simply government-sponsored murder. I wouldn’t want all that blood on my hands. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 28, 2002 at 12:07:39 PT |
The US prohibition policies have spread and have indirectly influenced harsh laws in other countries. [ Post Comment ] |
Comment #1 posted by krutch on March 28, 2002 at 11:32:22 PT:
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Even in a country where the penality for smuggling is death, smugglers are willing to take the risk. It is supply and demand. Prohibition makes the profits of smuggling irresistible. The more intense the prohibition, the rarer the commodity becomes, the more profits are to be had in breaking the prohibition. This vicious cycle just begs to be broken. Too bad the anti-drug zealots are blind to facts. [ Post Comment ] |
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