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Bali Death Penalty Fight: Aussies Accused in Underworld Hit
20 Jan
Summary
- Two Australians face potential death penalty in Bali for alleged murder.
- Victims linked to Melbourne's underworld; one beaten, one shot.
- Defense argues attack was to scare debtor, not intended murder.
Two Australians, Mevlut Coskun and Paea I Middlemore Tupou, are currently on trial in Denpasar District Court, desperately seeking to avert the death penalty. They stand accused of the alleged assassination of Zivan Radmanovic and the serious wounding of Sanar Ghanim on June 14. Both victims are reported to have connections to Melbourne's underworld.
Prosecutors contend that Ghanim was shot six times while Radmanovic was fatally shot after being bludgeoned with a sledgehammer. The defense, however, has presented a legal expert who testified that the accused claimed their intention was only to 'scare' Radmanovic over an unpaid debt, not to kill him, arguing this should preclude a premeditated murder charge.
If convicted, Coskun and Tupou, along with a third man allegedly involved in logistics and escape, face Indonesian law's harshest penalties: life imprisonment or execution. All three were apprehended attempting to flee the country shortly after the incident, which occurred at a villa in Munggu.
