Nick Baker Rally

[Captain Japan]

What is your involvement in the case?

[homesweethome]

His involvement in the case was as a casual observer who happened to be able to get a seat in the gallery. Watching an 'event' that seemed to have transpired as they thought it did in front of them. Very sad to see this sort of idealism destroyed by reality. Watching something occur is actually much different than being involved in the case itself, even if you understood what you were seeing, which I doubt.

Lots of statements doesn't make the case.

Japanese court is a tough nut to crack,
keep trying.

[fatslug]

moral of all this - dont carry any pricks bags

[veracotti]

...I guess it doesn't take too much to figure out, given the name, who we are dealing with here, went to one hearing for 20 minutes - arrived late and left early - and then yesterday's verdict. He wormed his way into Baker's group then turned on them with a vengence. I still cannot understand the reason why. Iris Baker offered to meet him one to one after he began his crusade against her and J4NB but he declined citing "what's the point". He had ample oportunity to ask questions at yesterday's press conference or speak to her then. This he also declined to do. If he doesn't agree with what Iris Baker is doing - fine - stand down stating your reasons, why continue this crusade against the poor women?

There are many issues he could - given his publishing resources - tackle. He chose to focus on trying to destroy a 57-year old grandmother. He is a moral coward and has lost much respect from those within his sphere of business.

On another forum, as a different persona he claims he was "threatened" by Baker's group - this is nothing more than a bare-faced lie.

[Greji]

I wonder how the fan club for Nick B and Chapelle chan's "horrible prison plight" would have reacted if they were given what this poor FG' got:

(This is the Sydney MH and it is a register site so I am pasting the whole article for expediency)

"Hanging set for December 2
November 17, 2005 - 4:20PM

Convicted Australian drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van will be executed in Singapore on December 2, his Australian lawyer has announced.

A letter from the Singapore Government confirming the news was sent to Nguyen's mother, Kim Nguyen at 2pm (AEDT) today, lawyer Lex Lasry said.

She will be allowed to visit Nguyen in the three days before his execution, Mr Lasry said.

Nguyen, 25, was caught at Changi airport in Singapore in 2002 with 396 grams of heroin strapped to his body and in his hand luggage.

The news comes a day after Prime Minister John Howard left Australia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Joint Ministerial Meeting in South Korea, where he said he hoped to discuss Nguyen's fate with members of the Singapore Government.

But shortly before he left Sydney for South Korea yesterday, Mr Howard said he held little hope for a positive outcome.

Support for Nguyen

Supporters of Nguyen are due to launch a public display of their Reach Out campaign tomorrow at Melbourne's State Library in Swanston Street.

Thousands of hand-shaped notes about Nguyen's case, to be presented to the Singapore Government in coming days, will be displayed at the library from 10am, with a launch by Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls.

Mr Hulls says he is disappointed Singapore authorities have set a date for the execution.

In an address to Parliament earlier today, Mr Hulls called on the Singapore Government to intervene and save the life of Nguyen.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hulls said he would urge Singapore to intervene and was "disappointed they've set a date".

The Victorian Government has previously been cautious in its support of Nguyen.

Last month, Premier Steve Bracks said he had written to Singapore's Prime Minister to emphasise the strong links between his state and the republic.

"We're a very strong and close partner in commerce, industry, investment and education as well," Mr Bracks told Southern Cross radio.

"They understand our opposition to capital punishment and how it is abhorrent to us," he said at the time.

Today Mr Hulls said Nguyen, having admitted to attempting to traffic a substantial quantity of heroin, had shown "significant remorse".

"He even agreed to testify against those on whose behalf he was transporting the contraband," Mr Hulls said.

"He has done what, in the tradition of most legal systems, would earn him a reduction in sentence.

"With all humility, today I plead with the Singapore Government to reject this penalty."

Singapore reaction

In Singapore, news of the execution date was met with resignation by human rights activists.

"I am not surprised. I just feel sad," said anti-death penalty campaigner M Ravi.

This week Philip Alston, an Australian who is the UN's Geneva-based special rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, said Singapore's mandatory death penalty policy for drug offences contravened international law.

Singapore flatly rejected Mr Alston's assessment yesterday.

Mr Ravi, a lawyer who has handled two death penalty cases in Singapore, said that in their letter to Nguyen's family authorities probably have asked them to make funeral arrangements.

Otherwise the state would conduct a cremation.

It was likely his family would be allowed to see Nguyen from 9am to 5pm from Tuesday to Thursday before his execution, he said citing standard prison procedures.

Amnesty International has said Singapore probably has the highest per capita execution rate worldwide.

Between 1991 and 2000, 340 people were hanged in the city-state, according to official figures.

In busy years - such as 1996, when 50 people were hanged, the gallows use averaged close to once a week."

[sparkzilla]

I wonder how the fan club for Nick B and Chapelle chan's "horrible prison plight" would have reacted if they were given what this poor FG' got:

They would do the same as they have been doing all along: deny the facts, mislead the public, shout out against "unfair" procedures, blame everyone except their man, and smear anyone that tries to point out their lies.

If you are interested, there is now a pretty good round-up of the case on Wikipedia.

[dingosatemybaby]

If you are interested, there is now a pretty good round-up of the case on Wikipedia.

I'm not!

But <redacted> seems to be absolutely obsessed by the case. What's up with the Jean Valjean complex, <redacted>?

[kurohinge1]

... Amnesty International has said Singapore probably has the highest per capita execution rate worldwide.

Between 1991 and 2000, 340 people were hanged in the city-state, according to official figures ...

I'm imagining their tourism ads:

"Come and hang around in Singapore"





For Nick & all those mentioned - my signature (below) applies.

[Greji]

But <redacted> seems to be absolutely obsessed by the case. What's up with the Jean Valjean complex, <redacted>?

I gave my support to a cause, only to find out the people behind it were manipulative liars who had deliberately misled me and many others.

Metropolis round-up of the story: http://metropolis.japantoday.com/tokyo/recent/feature.asp

Why worry about it now, they went down the tube as well as if they had been with Nicky boy. It it'll all be forgotten in 6 or 7 years (if he gets enuff gold stars for extra good time) when they let him out of the slammer!

[Taro Toporific]

... went down the tube as well as if they had been with Nicky boy. It it'll all be forgotten in 6 or 7 years (if he gets enuff gold stars for extra good time) when they let him out of the slammer!

That lucky bugger, Baker, will be out of Japan in two years....but I will still be here, meh.:?

Metropolis round-up of the story:
....Having dropped his appeal to the Supreme Court, with time already served taken into account, Baker has eight years left to serve. After he has completed a third of his sentence in Japan, he can transfer to a British prison, probably by mid-2008.

[emperor]

[dingosatemybaby]

... went down the tube as well as if they had been with Nicky boy. It it'll all be forgotten in 6 or 7 years (if he gets enuff gold stars for extra good time) when they let him out of the slammer!

That lucky bugger, Baker, will be out of Japan in two years....but I will still be here, meh.:?



Metropolis round-up of the story:
....Having dropped his appeal to the Supreme Court, with time already served taken into account, Baker has eight years left to serve. After he has completed a third of his sentence in Japan, he can transfer to a British prison, probably by mid-2008.

As always, Taro masterfully puts things in their proper perspective. Then there's dingo's perspective:

[Mulboyne]

Asahi: Rough Justice

More than three years have passed since Masaharu Katsuno finished a decade-long stretch in an Australian prison. Yet, the 56-year-old still holds out hope that he, his two brothers and their two friends will some day clear their names of the heroin smuggling charge that put them behind bars. Since 1998, while still in prison, each of the five has filed complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, claiming various mistranslations during their interrogations and their trials infringed their rights to receive fair trials. After hearing their claims and the Australian government's response, the U.N. committee will start deliberating the matter next month, according to lawyers for the group. It is a claim made repeatedly by many of the thousands of foreigners arrested in Japan each year, but here there is little evidence available for them to back up their arguments. Australia, however, along with Britain and other countries, requires police and prosecutors to make recordings of all their interrogations of criminal suspects. Experts can now examine videotapes to verify the claims of Katsuno and the others that their testimony was mistranslated.

The five Japanese were arrested at Melbourne Airport in 1992 after customs officers discovered 13 kilograms of heroin in their luggage. Throughout the trial and in the years since, they have maintained their innocence, claiming that they were duped by their Malaysian guide into acting as "mules" for a Triad drug syndicate. Katsuno and three others were released on parole in 2002, and they returned to Japan. One of Katsuno's brothers remains in an Australian prison and is due to be paroled in May. Lawyers for the group claim that the poor interpretation during interrogations and trials gave the mistaken impression to the jury that the defendants were trying to conceal information or were lying outright. The lawyers say an examination of the interrogation recordings shows the translators could not translate basic terms into Japanese, such as "lawyer," "legal aid," or "immigration."

Katsuno is keenly aware that foreigners arrested in Japan do not have recourse to this kind of evidence. At a workshop organized by supporters in Tokyo last Saturday, he called for Japan to require police and prosecutors to record all interviews with criminal suspects. "Having no recorded evidence of interrogations means that there is no chance for foreigners to assert their rights when they are subjected to false interpretations and investigators' framing based on such interpretations,'' Katsuno told about 30 people taking part. Participants discussed the case of British national Nicholas Baker, who was convicted of drug smuggling in October...more...

[amdg]

[Leslie!]

[nullpointer]

[dimwit]

WTF? What are they smoking and can I have some?

Only if you want to be interoggated without it being recorded.