Australian police & the firing squad

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has been criticised for its role in the arrest of the Bali 9, providing information to the Indonesian police that led to the arrest of nine Australian citizens for drug smuggling offences.

Two have since been sentenced to death for their role in the plot.

Now the Australian government has confirmed another Australian citizen is facing execution as a result of AFP cooperation in the region.

Huu Trinh, 53, was sentenced to death in Viet Nam for trafficking about 2 kilograms of heroin. He was reportedly arrested on the Vietnam-Cambodia border.

A spokesperson for Australia’s Justice Minister Chris Ellison told The Age newspaper that Trinh's arrest "was the result of co-operation between Australian and Vietnamese authorities regarding a large drug syndicate".

Amnesty International Australia has called on the government to revise the operational guidelines to ensure Australian police will only provide information where there is a guarantee that the information will not be used to sentence people to death.

Following the death sentences handed down in Bali, Amnesty International said "the Government must review its guidelines for the AFP, to ensure it can work with police in Asia and meet Australia’s international human rights obligations".