Australian Prisoners Abroad

The Australian Prisoners Abroad Subcommittee was formed in response to the increasing number of Australians being arrested and imprisoned in foreign countries. NSWCCL has much to contribute in this area, not least because we are active in bringing about the first Prisoner Transfer Treaty to which Australia is a party, being the treaty with Thailand. This treaty is to serve as a model for negotiations with Indonesia and other regional governments.

The subcommittee is concerned with the numerous civil liberties issues at stake, including:

the fairness of overseas trials and the pre-trial process;
the role of the Australian Federal Police in liaising with their overseas counterparts, especially in jurisdictions where the death penalty applies; and,
the role of the Australian government generally in upholding the rights and liberties of its citizens, wherever they might be located.

update June 2007

I have now confirmed that Jane McKenzie and Deborah Spinner have been granted Royal Pardons by the King of Thailand and have been released from prison in NSW.

Jane and Deborah’s plight led to a campaign by NSWCCL for Australia to negotiate a prisoner transfer treaty with Thailand. The campaign was successful and Jane and Deborah were among the first Australian citizens to be transferred back to an Australian jail, allowing them to see their families for the first time since their original penalty of death was imposed.

Jane and Deborah’s release is most welcome and is a satisfying conclusion to a very successful campaign.

Sticking with news from Thailand, we have successfully assisted an Australian prisoner, Robert Foley, to obtain funding from the federal Attorney-General. Mr Foley has been in Bangkwang Prison in Thailand for almost a decade but was recently flown to Italy pursuant to an Italian extradition order. He has apparently been convicted and sentenced in absentia by a court in Rome. The funding will assist Mr Foley to obtain the necessary legal representation for an appeal.

Kevin O’Rourke
27 June 2007

update march 2007

Some welcome news to report this month. We have heard informally that Jane McKenzie and Deborah Spinner are to be granted Royal Pardons next week and will be immediately released from prison in NSW.

I visited Jane and Deborah in the women’s section of the ‘Bangkok Hilton’ almost a decade ago. They had been convicted of serious drug offences and were originally sentenced to death, though the sentences were commuted to 50 years each on appeal. Both Jane and Deborah were young mothers at the time and each had two children. There were no prisoner transfer treaties in existence then.

Jane and Deborah’s plight, and their seeming abandonment by the Australian Government, led to a campaign by NSWCCL for Australia to negotiate a prisoner transfer treaty with Thailand. The campaign was successful and Jane and Deborah were among the first Australian citizens to be transferred back to an Australian jail, allowing them to see their families for the first time since the death penalty was first imposed.

The prisoner transfer treaty with Thailand led to further bilateral treaties with Hong Kong and Cambodia, and soon with Indonesia. We have also entered into a multilateral treaty that covers around 60 countries.

Jane and Deborah’s imminent release is a striking reminder of the impact NSWCCL campaigns can have on the lives of others. From the death penalty to freedom in a decade is an extraordinary outcome. Welcome news indeed!

Kevin O’Rourke
28 March 2007

update january 2007

I have reported previously that a Prisoner Transfer Treaty between Australia and Cambodia was signed on 10 October 2006. This was very welcome news for Gordon Vuong and his mother for whom CCL has been acting. Gordon was 16 at the time of his arrest and was sentenced to a 13 year prison term for serious drug offences. The Treaty is now before the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties and CCL lodged a submission with the Committee on 10 January.

CCL has endorsed the prisoner transfer treaty but has suggested the process of implementation be improved so that transfers can take place more quickly. Once the treaty is in force (a process which itself can take six months) the bureaucracy involved will take a further 12 months before any transfer is effected. CCL submitted that Gordon’s young age, together with the unsatisfactory features of his trial and appeal, lent much weight to a speedier transfer.

Kevin O’Rourke
24 January 2007

update november 2006

There has been a significant development in the case of Gordon Vuong, the 16 year old Australian schoolboy sentenced to a 13 year jail term in Cambodia. In my last report I noted with disappointment the dismissal of his appeal after a relatively short hearing and a lack of opportunity to present full legal argument. Judged by reference to any acceptable legal standard, both the trial and the appeal have been most unsatisfactory.

It was therefore pleasing to hear that a Prisoner Transfer Treaty between Australia and Cambodia was signed on 10 October 2006. This will give Gordon the opportunity to serve his sentence closer to home nearer his family. In practical terms, and even allowing for the deficiencies in our own prison system, he will be able to receive regular family visits, get adequate meals, decent sanitation, clean water and access to medical treatment.

However, the treaty is not yet in force and several steps now need to be taken to implement the treaty. Sadly, the bureaucracy involved means this could take some 12 to 18 months. We will see what can be done to ‘fast track’ this process. Gordon’s young age, together with the unsatisfactory features of his trial and appeal, lend much weight to a speedier resolution.

Kevin O’Rourke
22 November 2006

Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters

The Justice Minister has recently announced a review of Australia's Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters arrangements. The subcommittee will be contributing to this review.

As part of our research, CCL has FOI'ed the old Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Manual. It has not been updated by the Attorney-General's Department since 2000, and is no longer used by the Department.

Download: (old) Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Manual (size: 16M)