How our police erred on the side of capital punishment

LAST week, the Indonesian Supreme Court increased the sentences of four of the socalled Bali Nine from 20 years to death. Responding to Australians' expressions of surprise and shock, the Prime Minister, John Howard, promised to appeal for clemency on their behalf - though only when all possible legal appeals have been exhausted. The outcome in the Indonesian Supreme Court has refocused attention on the case of Rush v Commissioner of Police, decided in the Federal Court of Australia in January. In Rush, the broad issue was the legality of the actions of the Australian Federal Police. It involved four of the Bali Nine seeking discovery of the identity of the officers who had passed on information about the activities of the four drug couriers to the Indonesian National Police.