Indonesia’s bid to execute 6 cargo ship crew in drug case sparks liability debate
Prosecutors allege the crew knowingly transported nearly two tonnes of meth, while lawyers say criminal intent must be assessed individually
When 22-year-old Fandi Ramadhan phoned home from detention last May, he told his mother he had no idea drugs were aboard the ship he had just started working on as an engine-room oiler.
The case, being heard in Batam in Indonesia’s Riau Islands near Singapore, has prompted his family to campaign for his release and stirred debate over criminal liability at sea, as well as the country’s evolving use of capital punishment.
Ramadhan and the five others – two Thai and three Indonesian nationals – were arrested on May 21 last year after police stopped the vessel in waters off the Riau Islands as it travelled from Bangkok.
Once aboard, police found 67 boxes of Chinese tea that contained a reported 1.9 tonnes of methamphetamines.
According to prosecutors, the six defendants were part of a sophisticated international drug-smuggling network.