Australian man Lamar Ahchee arrested in Bali did not know package was drugs: lawyer
A female staff member of one of Ahchee's neighbours witnessed the commotion in an alleyway beside the block of units.
Lamar Ahchee's Bali lawyer, Edward Pangkahila. Credit: Amilia Rosa
'I came outside because I was curious – it was so noisy, a ruckus, so many officers,' she said, identifying Ahchee as the centre of the officers' attention after this masthead showed her his photo.
'That man [Ahchee] was trying to run, and the officer chased him. I tried to take a video, but they stopped me. They said 'no video', so I just watched. The officers and that man, he was like five metres from where I was standing. They crowded the alleyway.
'He probably got injured when he tried to run. He was trying to reach the main street. There must have been dozens of officers.'
Ahchee could take heart from a similar case involving an English man, Thomas Parker, that concluded on Tuesday afternoon with a sentence of 10 months' imprisonment minus time already served.
Parker, who also has Pangkahila as his lawyer, was arrested in Kuta on January 21 after collecting a package that contained more than a kilogram of MDMA on behalf of a person he knew to be a drug dealer, and of whom he was afraid.
Investigators in that case dropped the charge that carried the death penalty after determining the package was not directly related to him.
'[Ahchee's case] is like Thomas' case,' Pangkahila said. 'I can't speak for the police, but I can speak for my client. [Ahchee] had no idea what was in the package; he never admitted it was his, he never received or was promised payment. It was just a favour.
'My client was very upset. He was so upset he was throwing himself onto the wall and onto the floor … he is stressed because he knows the charges carry the death penalty.'
Bali police will now work with prosecutors to complete Ahchee's interrogation and the investigation dossier. Once that is finished, a process that can take no longer than four months, prosecutors will prepare an indictment.
Speaking after Parker's case, Pangkahila said even a 10-month sentence was too long and that his client should be free.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what's making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
8 hours ago
- West Australian
Iran executes two members of banned opposition group
Iran has executed two members of the outlawed Mujahideen-e-Khalq opposition group for targeting civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, "operational elements" of the MEK, were sentenced to death in a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday. "The terrorists, in co-ordination with MEK leaders, had set up a team house in Tehran, where they built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres, and also carried out propaganda and information-gathering activities in support of the MEK," the report said. The defendants were indicted with "moharebeh", an Islamic term meaning waging war against God, destroying public property and "membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security". Semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday that Ehsani-Eslamloo had been arrested in 2022 following an explosion at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed by the MEK. The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, was a powerful leftist-Islamist group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed the Islamic Republic and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union until 2012.
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
Iran executes two members of banned opposition group
Iran has executed two members of the outlawed Mujahideen-e-Khalq opposition group for targeting civilian infrastructure with homemade projectiles. Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani-Eslamloo, "operational elements" of the MEK, were sentenced to death in a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court, judiciary news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday. "The terrorists, in co-ordination with MEK leaders, had set up a team house in Tehran, where they built launchers and hand-held mortars in line with the group's goals, fired projectiles heedlessly at citizens, homes, service and administrative facilities, educational and charity centres, and also carried out propaganda and information-gathering activities in support of the MEK," the report said. The defendants were indicted with "moharebeh", an Islamic term meaning waging war against God, destroying public property and "membership in a terrorist organisation with the aim of disrupting national security". Semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday that Ehsani-Eslamloo had been arrested in 2022 following an explosion at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology claimed by the MEK. The MEK, known in English as People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran, was a powerful leftist-Islamist group that staged bombing campaigns against the shah's government and US targets in the 1970s but ultimately fell out with the other factions of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Since then, the MEK has opposed the Islamic Republic and its leadership in exile has been Paris-based. The group was listed as a terrorist organisation by the US and the European Union until 2012.
7NEWS
16 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Woman seriously injured when struck by van in Noble Park North in Melbourne
A woman was seriously injured when she was hit by a van earlier this month, with police hunting for the driver who dropped the victim home instead of taking her to hospital. The 76-year-old woman was walking on Barkers Rd at Noble Park North — in Melbourne's southeast — when she was hit by the van while crossing Eagle Dr about 6.30am on Saturday, July 5. She suffered serious upper body injuries as a result. Victoria Police say the woman, who does not speak English, was able to communicate to the driver where she lived and he dropped her outside her home before driving off. 'The pair did not exchange details,' Victoria Police said. The woman was later assessed by paramedics and taken to hospital with serious injuries. Victoria Police have released CCTV footage and an image of the van they believe was involved in the incident. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has any dashcam/ CCTV footage from the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
