Indonesian court hands down death penalty to French drug smuggler

JAKARTA, May 20  — An Indonesian court in West Nusa Tenggara province on Monday sentenced a Frenchman to death for smuggling a huge amount of drug into the country.

The verdict came as the country’s authorities are fighting against rampant drug abuse in Indonesia.
Felix Dorfin, 35, was nabbed in September as he was bringing 3 kg of ecstacy and amphetamines in a suitcase in Lombok airport of the province next to Bali Island, where many foreign nationals were frequently arrested in drug cases, according to the court.

“The court convicted defendant Felix Dorfin death sentence,” presiding judge Isnurul Syamsul Arif said in a court session.

The decision was beyond prosecutor’s demand of 20-year jail term to the defendant. Still, the judge argued that the defendant’s act potentially impacted youngsters and disrupted the country’s national security.

Indonesia has declared a war against drug abuses as the country is in narcotic emergency due to rampant drug abuse among the people.
Dozens of drug offenders, including foreigners, had faced firing squad for spreading narcotics in Indonesia before. – XINHUA