Australian drug mule avoids death penalty in Bali

SYDNEY (AAP) - Bali Nine drug mule Scott Rush has escaped the death penalty after winning a judicial review of his case, reducing his sentence to life in prison.
Rush, 24, had been facing execution for his part in a 2005 plot to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.
But the Supreme Court, which published the decision on Tuesday, instead commuted his sentence to life, citing the fact that Rush had shown remorse for his actions while also taking into account his age.
The court also cited the fact that he was only a courier, and not considered a ringleader of the group.
Rush, from Brisbane, was only 19 and on his first trip to Bali when he was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport with 1.3kg of heroin strapped to his legs underneath his clothing.
His lawyer Frans Hendra Winata said Rush had been informed of the decision.
"Yes. The sentence has been changed to life," Mr Winata told AAP.
"This is also really good news for the family. Thank God for this."
It is understood the Supreme Court voted 2-1 in favour of granting the judicial review.
If it had failed, it would have left Rush's life depending on clemency from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
"The reasons they gave is that he's still young, he's been repentant and his role was only as a courier," Mr Winata said.
In Canberra, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Australians would greet the decision with relief.
"The Australian government welcomes this decision by the Supreme Court," he told parliament.
He said the federal government remained in close touch with Rush's parents, who had been informed of the decision.
Mr Rudd said Rush's parents had shouldered a heavy burden, with years of waiting for the decision.
The so-called ringleaders of the Bali Nine - Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran - are also waiting for the outcome of judicial reviews in the hope they will escape the firing squad.
If their appeals fail, they must also rely on President Yudhoyono granting them clemency.
Rush now joins a number of other members of the drug smuggling plot who are also serving life sentences in Bali's Kerobokan Prison, including Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Than Nguyen and Michael Czugaj.
Stephens had his final appeal against a life sentence rejected in January.
The final member of the drug ring, Renae Lawrence, is serving a 20-year sentence, which has already been reduced by almost two years.