By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania
DARWIN, Australia – Judge Dean Mildren for the Northern Territory criticizes the laws that forced him to sentence two Indonesians to five years in jail for smuggling asylum-seekers. Judge Mildren stated that he would have preferred to give the two Indonesians a lesser penalty.
Australia has struggled over the increasing number of boat arrivals with people from war-ravaged countries seeking asylum. Boat crews usually comprise of poor fishermen who are approached by trafficking organizers and given lucrative fees for smuggling people. The organizers are rarely caught themselves, and the fishermen suffer the consequences.
On October 23, 2009, Mohamad Tahir and Beny pled guilty to smuggling asylum-seekers on a boat. The two Indonesians are only 19 years of age. They were both charged with illegally bringing five or more people into Australia.
Tahir and Beny were crew members aboard the boat SIEV 36. The boat was apprehended by the Australian Navy on April 15. The boat was heading towards Christmas Island, but exploded and caught fire near Ashmore Island, killing the five asylum seekers and injuring more than 40 people.
At the Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin, Tahir and Benny both admitted their guilt. Tahir appeared on the dock, and stated: “Yes I am guilty of bringing people who have no lawful right to come to Australia.”
The Court also heard testimony that the two Indonesians were from “poor fishing families and had acted out of financial hardship when they were approached to carry asylum-seekers to Australia. Both had been approached by older men and offered $560 to smuggle the five asylum-seekers. Both are also illiterate.
Judge Mildren sentenced Tahir and Beny to five years in prison. However, he stated that he was “forced to sentence the pair to five years in prison with a non-parole period of three years, because of the mandatory minimum sentencing policy introduced by the Howard government” and that the time the two Indonesians would spend behind bars was “greater than the justice of the case.”
Judge Mildren emphasized that he would have imposed a lower sentence if there was not a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, specifically because the two men were poor and had little education. He further commented that “[i]n cases such as this, the ordinary sentencing principles play no function.”
According to the law, the men must serve at least three years of their term before they are eligible for parole.
Judge Mildren recommended to the federal Attorney-General to consider releasing the men after 12 months because of their young age, poor financial status, and if they assisted the authorities to track down the traffickers they were approached by.
For more information, please see:
The Australian – Jail term “excessive” for people-smugglers – 29 October 2009
ABC News – People smuggling: judge irked by sentencing laws – 28 October 2009
The Jakarta Post – 2 Indonesians sentenced to 5 years for people smuggling – 28 October 2009
PerthNow – SIEV 36 crew jailed after fatal people smuggling trip – 28 October 2009
Townsville Bulletin – Two from fatal people smuggling trip jailed – 28 October 2009
Words News Australia – Two Indonesians plead guilty to people smuggling – 23 October 2009
