MATARAM, Indonesia: A French man faces execution under Indonesia’s strict drug laws after he was caught using a false-bottomed suitcase to smuggle narcotics into the Southeast Asian nation, an official said Monday.
Prosecutors have accused Felix Dorfin of trafficking four kilogrammes (8.8 pounds) of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines.
The 35-year-old from Benthune in northern France was arrested after arriving at Lombok island’s airport from Singapore in September.
“We are charging him with drug possession, carrying drugs to Indonesia from abroad, and trafficking drugs,” lead prosecutor Ginung Pratidina told the court.
He faced a potential death sentence if convicted, Pratidina added.
Dorfin was read the charges with the aid of an English translator.
The Frenchman escaped from jail in late January by sawing through bars on the second floor window of the prison and rappelling to freedom with a sarong.
He spent nearly two weeks on the run before he was captured again in a forest in North Lombok.
Police said Dorfin tried to bribe officers to let him go.
A female police officer was arrested for allegedly helping Dorfin escape from jail in exchange for Rp 14.5 million (around $1,000).
Indonesia has some of the world’s strictest drug laws — including death penalty sentences for drug traffickers.
It has executed several foreign drug smugglers in the past including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, which sparked diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
Indonesia has not executed anyone since 2016, but a number of foreigners are still on death row.
Serge Atlaoui, a convicted French drug smuggler, has been on death row since 2007, while British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford has been on death row since 2013.
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French drug suspect faces death penalty in Indonesia
French drug suspect faces death penalty in Indonesia
- Indonesia has some of the world’s strictest drug laws — including death penalty sentences for drug traffickers
- A female police officer was arrested for allegedly helping Dorfin escape from jail in exchange for Rp 14.5 million (around $1,000)
France bans 10 British far-right, anti-migration activists from entering
PARIS: France’s interior ministry said on Wednesday it has banned 10 British far-right activists from entering or staying in the country, after they carried out actions deemed to incite violence and seriously disturb public order on French territory.
The activists, identified as members of a group called “Raise the Colors” that was involved in a national flag-raising campaign, seek to find and destroy boats used to carry migrants and spread propaganda on France’s northern coast calling on the British public to join the movement to stop migration, according to the French interior ministry.
“Our rule of law is non-negotiable, violent or hate-inciting actions have no place on our territory,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the group’s activities in December last year and that it had referred the matter to the relevant authorities, as the actions were likely to cause “serious disturbances” to public order.
“Raise the Colors” describes itself as a grassroots movement that began in the central English city of Birmingham, when a small group started tying national flags to lampposts in a show of national pride. It says the effort has since spread across the UK.
The widespread display of the red-and-white St. George’s Cross for England and the Union Jack for Britain has prompted concern among some migrant communities as a reflection of rising anti-immigration sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers last year.
Neither the group nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Immigration and the crossings of small boats carrying migrants from France have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party, into a commanding opinion poll lead.
Farage last year in London met the leader of French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, who has accused France of being too soft on immigration.
The activists, identified as members of a group called “Raise the Colors” that was involved in a national flag-raising campaign, seek to find and destroy boats used to carry migrants and spread propaganda on France’s northern coast calling on the British public to join the movement to stop migration, according to the French interior ministry.
“Our rule of law is non-negotiable, violent or hate-inciting actions have no place on our territory,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
The ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the group’s activities in December last year and that it had referred the matter to the relevant authorities, as the actions were likely to cause “serious disturbances” to public order.
“Raise the Colors” describes itself as a grassroots movement that began in the central English city of Birmingham, when a small group started tying national flags to lampposts in a show of national pride. It says the effort has since spread across the UK.
The widespread display of the red-and-white St. George’s Cross for England and the Union Jack for Britain has prompted concern among some migrant communities as a reflection of rising anti-immigration sentiment in the country, coinciding with a wave of protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers last year.
Neither the group nor the British Foreign Office immediately responded to Reuters requests for comment.
Immigration and the crossings of small boats carrying migrants from France have become a focal point for British voters and has helped propel Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party, into a commanding opinion poll lead.
Farage last year in London met the leader of French far-right National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, who has accused France of being too soft on immigration.
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