Bali Nine
IN PHOTO: Michael Chan (L), brother of Australian death row prisoner Andrew Chan, walks beside Chintu Sukumaran, brother of Australian death row prisoner Myuran Sukumaran, who carries a self-portrait painted by Myuran Sukumaran, at Wijayapura port in Cilacap, Central Java, Indonesia, April 28, 2015. Nine drug traffickers met their families for what could be the final time at an Indonesian maximum security prison on Tuesday, after Jakarta rejected international pleas for clemency and ordered their mass execution to proceed, possibly within hours. Myuran Sukumaran will be executed by an Indonesian firing squad at midnight for drug trafficking, his mother said. REUTERS/Beawiharta

The Australian Federal Police is under scrutiny after the executions in Indonesia. The barrister who told the Australian Federal Police about the plans of Bali Nine accused the AFP of having “blood on its hands.”

More than a decade ago, Bob Myers had tipped off the AFP about a possible drug smuggling operation after he was informed by a good friend and the father of Scott Rush, one of the Bali Nine. He said the AFP had taken a different direction and used the information it had to alert the Indonesian authorities.

Myers said the AFP’s decision had led to the executions of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran by Indonesia firing squad during the early hours of the morning on April 29. The barrister said the AFP had enough information and evidence to arrest the co-conspirators at the Sydney Airport. However, Myers added that Australian police allowed them to fly to Indonesia where the penalty for their crime was death. He told news.com.au that the suspects “should have never been there.”

“The AFP knew it had to be an inevitable outcome, they knew one or more of the people they let leave Australia for the purpose of what they knew would be to smuggle drugs back into Australia,” said Myers. He believes the AFP should be investigated for knowing exactly what the consequences will be.

The life of Filipina Mary Jane Veloso was spared following appeals from the Philippine government. Eight of the prisoners, including Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran due to be executed had refused to be blindfolded while waiting for imminent death by Indonesian firing squad.

Meanwhile, politicians have called for the AFP to face an investigation for its role in delivering the nine leaders of the smuggling ring to Indonesia authorities. Senator Clive Palmer said he would introduce a private member’s bill, co-sponsored by Victorian independent MP Cathy McGowan, to reduce the chances of Australians being convicted of crimes overseas meet the same fate of Chan and Sukumaran, reports SMH.

Palmer said if the AFP was aware of Australians involved in a crime punishable by death in a foreign country, the police should not be allowed to pass on information that could expedite the death penalty. Under his draft legislation, public officials who disclose information that could lead to the execution of Australians overseas will be facing a minimum prison term of one year and a maximum of 15 years.

(To report problems or leave feedback on this article, contact: r.su@ibtimes.com.au)

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