spirit_of_town_hall Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 Brit Smuggler Spared Death Penalty A British man has been spared the death penalty but jailed for life in Thailand for smuggling 4kg of heroin out of the country.Julian Gilbey, 35, avoided the death sentence, normally mandatory for drug trafficking in Thailand, because he admitted smuggling but claimed he thought he was carrying diamonds.The former English language teacher from the Isle of Bute, Scotland was one of four people who appeared in court in Bangkok. His family and supporters insisted he was duped into carrying the drugs by a gang and Stephen Jakobi of the organisation Fair Trials Abroad said there were serious concerns about the trial. Evidence A man in Austria was acquitted of the same charge because the court accepted that he was duped by the gang. "People when they are convicted often say this sort of thing but in this case Gilbey's, there is some evidence that this is the case," Mr Jakobi said. "There is an appeal and what we are hoping is that the people look at evidence coming from Austria very carefully. "They should do because it is of great concern when you get different results from the same facts in different countries." Confession Gilbey's sister, Karen Cameron, said that her brother's claim that he thought he was carrying diamonds and not drugs had never been heard in court, adding: "He's not had a fair trial and we need help with this. "My mother's 70 years old and wants to see her son again. He's not been treated right through all of this. Obviously, she's devastated." According to Mr Gilbey's MP Liberal Democrat Alan Reid, there were also concerns about the sentence arising from the evidence used to convict him. He said the Bangkok court had found the Scot guilty on the basis of a signed confession that had been written for him in Thai and not translated into English. Special pardon Gilbey's fate may follow that of fellow Scot Sandra Gregory, who was sentenced to death in Thailand in 1993 for smuggling heroin. Her sentence was commuted to 25 years in jail before she was freed last year following a special pardon by the Thai king. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man at Work Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 A life in a thai Prison? That is worse than hanging! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit_of_town_hall Posted September 20, 2002 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 If you get the chance read "Damage Done " by Warren Fellows, tale of an aussie guy who did ten years. A good read and enough to put anyone off smuggling heroin out of Thailand. STH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vision25 Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 This twat's sister was on Radio 5 today and said that he thought he was smuggling diamonds instead of drugs. Hardly a good defence. Assuming that the Thai's occasionally kill Thai nationals for this type of offence, they should start treating farangs the same and hang a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lazyphil Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 <<If you get the chance read "Damage Done " by Warren Fellows, tale of an aussie guy who did ten years>> I read that a few weeks ago and yes it does put you off! I've not sympathy for these guys who will screw up peoples lives wherever these drugs end up. They don't give a shit so why should the authorties or us?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haltest Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 It said in the Bangkok post that they shoot smugglers with the good old trusty firing squad instead of hanging them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 I do believe the Julian was offered work smuggling diamonds. The reason I believe it is I was sitting at a roadside beerbar and was approached by someone who knew my face but didn't know me. The offer was to carry a bag with diamonds sewn into the lining to Taiwan, I laughed at the guy and said the only way I would get involved in that was if I bought the bag, I kept the bag with me at all times and then saw the gems sewn in. I then said I'll guarantee you it's drugs being smuggled so don't ask me again. There are gullible people out there as we've seen in some of the rip offs that do occur. I actually do know Julian to say hello to and as far as I am aware His wife/girlfriend had just given birth. The probability is he was so stressed out to provide for them that he didn't think straight and forgot the golden rule. In Bangkok when someone tells you something treat it with a load of scepticism, then think of the worst case scenario and your probably close to whats really happening. So yes I do feel sorry for Julian and sort of do believe his story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 Hi! Four kilos of diamonds is an awful lot, especially if they are not industry grade. Several years ago a Swedish lady was caught at Don Muang with 7.5 kilos of heroin. She to claimed that she was tricked into carrying it. I know that there are a lot of stupid people out there but I'm still very sceptical when drug smugglers caught in the act deny any knowledge of it. regards ALHOLK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vision25 Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 ""I do believe the Julian was offered work smuggling diamonds."" <snip> Why do you feel sorry for him? Because he was stressed? Because he was short of money? If he is telling the truth, then by his own admission he was deliberately doing something illegal (assuming that smuggling diamonds is indeed illegal). So he can hardly claim to have been fitted up for this one. I can see no reason why the Thai authorities should behave more lieniently to farangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vision25 Posted September 20, 2002 Report Share Posted September 20, 2002 **It said in the Bangkok post that they shoot smugglers with the good old trusty firing squad instead of hanging them ** Just out of interest, how is the firing squad chosen, prision warders, local army unit, police? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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