Reaction to the Michelle Leslie verdict
Earlier today the Denpasar District Court in Bali handed down their guilty verdict to Michelle Leslie for posession of two ecstasy tablets. Her verdict of three months, far less than the original prosecution demand of a 15 year jail term, has received mixed media reactions. Was Michelle Leslie given a fairly easy ride by Indonesian authorities? And, what’s more, after spending most of her three month jail term in custody, she is likely to be released in a matter of days. Professor of Asian Law from the University of Melbourne, Tim Lindsey, says the media has unneccesserily created a high profile case from a relatively mundane one, and the sentence is what can be expected from this type of offence. Professor Lindsey spoke to The Wire about the reaction in Indonesia.