Julian McMahon (barrister)

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Julian McMahon
Born
Julian P McMahon
NationalityAustralian
OccupationBarrister

Julian P McMahon AC is a Melbourne barrister, who has been the lawyer for Van Tuong Nguyen [1] [2] and members of the Bali Nine. [3] [4] He currently serves as the president of the Capital Punishment Justice Project (formerly Reprieve Australia), an organisation which aims to provide legal representation and humanitarian assistance to those at risk of execution. [5]

Contents

Early life and education

McMahon began studies at the University of Melbourne in 1986, where he was a resident at Trinity College. [6] McMahon was a member of the college debating club known as the Dialectic Society. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in 1987, and a Bachelor of Laws in 1990. He later obtained a Master of Laws degree from Monash University in 1998. [7]

Career

McMahon was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1992, and worked for Sly and Weigall and then the Office of Public Prosecutions. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1998, and specialises in criminal and human rights law. [8] He describes his chambers as having a history of "looking after people who no-one else really wants to defend". [9]

McMahon opposes the use of the death penalty internationally, and challenged Australian citizen Van Nguyen's execution by Singapore in 2005, along with Lex Lasry QC. [10] [11]

McMahon has represented the Australian citizens Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, convicted of drug trafficking in Bali, Indonesia. [12] McMahon, along with a team of lawyers including Todung Mulya Lubis have helped their clients prepare clemency requests, and has launched judicial reviews in an attempt to overturn their death sentences. [13] McMahon visited the pair in Nusakambangan Island, requesting family access. [14] In a comment to SBS Dateline, McMahon stated "they help Indonesians in prison become better people, the idea of killing two young men who do that day in and day out is just ridiculous.” [15]

Honours

McMahon was named Victorian Australian of the Year in 2016 for his work as a barrister, human rights advocate and fierce opponent of the death penalty. [16]

In the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours, McMahon was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), Australia's highest civilian honour. [17]

Related Research Articles

The Bali Nine were a group of nine Australians convicted for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The heroin was valued at around A$4 million and was bound for Australia. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and executed on 29 April 2015. Six other members, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens, were sentenced to life imprisonment and another, Renae Lawrence, to a 20-year sentence but was released after the sentence was commuted in November 2018. The Indonesian authorities reported on 5 June 2018 that Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen had died of stomach cancer.

Renae Lawrence is an Australian woman who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine.

Martin Eric Stephens is an Australian former bartender who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Stephens was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) of heroin taped to his chest and concealed under his clothing. After a criminal trial, on 14 February 2006 Stephens was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced to 10 years was rejected in January 2011.

Matthew James Norman is an Australian man who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Norman was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Norman was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Norman to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myuran Sukumaran</span> Australian drug trafficker

Myuran Sukumaran was an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia of drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali with eight others. Police found 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. According to court testimonies of convicted drug mules, Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were the co-ringleaders of the heroin-smuggling operation from Indonesia to Australia. After a criminal trial, Sukumaran was sentenced on 14 February 2006 by the Denpasar District Court to execution by firing squad.

Scott Anthony Rush is an Australian former labourer who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Rush was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) of heroin concealed on his body. After a criminal trial, on 13 February 2006, Rush was sentenced to life imprisonment. After appealing against the severity of the sentence, in a surprise outcome handed down by the Bali High Court on 6 September 2006, Rush's sentence was changed to the death penalty. On 10 May 2011, Rush's death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Chan (drug smuggler)</span> Australian drug trafficker (1984–2015)

Andrew Chan (Chinese: 陳子維; Jyutping: Can4 Zi2 Wai4; 12 January 1984 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian man who was convicted and executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. According to court testimonies of convicted drug mules, Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were the co-ringleaders of the heroin smuggling operation from Indonesia to Australia. After a criminal trial on 14 February 2006, Chan was sentenced to execution by firing squad by the Denpasar District Court.

Michael William Czugaj is an Australian former glazier from Oxley, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking of heroin as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Czugaj was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) of heroin concealed on his body. After a criminal trial on 14 February 2006 Czugaj was sentenced to life imprisonment. His life sentence was reduced to a term of 20 years on appeal on 26 April 2006, but reinstated five months later.

Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen was a Vietnamese–Australian citizen. He was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Nguyen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Nguyen was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006.

Si Yi Chen is an Australian man who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Chen to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.

Lex Lasry is an Australian lawyer and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria from 2007 to 2018. He also sat as a reserve judge from 2018 until his retirement as a reserve judge in February 2024.

Mark Davis is an Australian investigative journalist and lawyer, best known for his work on Dateline for SBS TV, where he is currently a co-presenter and video journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van Tuong Nguyen</span> Australian salesman convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore

Van Tuong Nguyen, baptised Caleb, was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. A Vietnamese Australian, he was also addressed as Nguyen Tuong-van (阮祥雲) in the Singaporean media, his name in Vietnamese custom, as well as in most Asian customs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Sleeth (visual artist)</span> Australian artist

Matthew Sleeth is an Australian visual artist and filmmaker. His often collaborative practice incorporates photography, film, sculpture and installation with a particular focus on the aesthetic and conceptual concerns of new media. The performative and photographic nature of media art is regularly highlighted in his work.

Anthony Hayes is an Australian actor, best known for his roles in War Machine, The Light Between Oceans, The Slap, Look Both Ways, The Boys, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Animal Kingdom and soap opera Paradise Beach.

Better Man is a four-part Australian television biopic mini-series which originally screened on SBS TV on 25 July 2013, and replayed in February 2014. It was written and directed by Khoa Do and produced by Stephen Corvini. It starred David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Claudia Karvan and newcomer Remy Hii. According to SBS, Better Man had the most "star studded lineup" in the network's history.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Indonesia.

The Mercy Campaign is an Australian-based campaign focusing on two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking offences as part of the Bali 9. The campaign's goal was to raise awareness of the two Australians' circumstances, and to petition the President of Indonesia to grant the pair clemency. The campaign was founded in 2010 by a group of lawyers and journalists. Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed on 29 April 2015, however the Mercy Campaign continues to raise awareness about death penalty issues worldwide.

Mohammad Laica Marzuki is a former judge of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia, as well as the first Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. During his tenure, Marzuki was one of three of the Constitutional Court's nine members to dissent from the majority opinion that rejected the appeal of Bali Nine members Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan. This follows Marzuki's view that the death penalty in general does not deter criminals and violates the Constitution of Indonesia. Marzuki has also expressed the view that the actions of the Attorney General of Indonesia must be subordinate to the decisions of the Constitutional Court, and that actions which conflict with such decisions are illegal under the law of Indonesia.

References

  1. ↑ "Singapore to abolish death penalty for some drug couriers". PM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "Saving citizen Nguyen". The Age. 24 October 2005.
  3. ↑ "Second judicial review application denied for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran". AM. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Drum talks with Bali 9 lawyer, Julian McMahon". The Drum. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 3 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "About Us". Capital Punishment Justice Project. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Salvete 1986", The Fleur-de-Lys, 1986, p. 54.
  7. ↑ "Debating Report", The Fleur-de-Lys, Nov. 1987, p. 16.
  8. ↑ "Barrister Profile - Julian P McMahon". Victorian Bar. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015.
  9. ↑ ""Irish" barristers Christmas celebrations". 7.30 Report. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 December 2001.
  10. ↑ "Nguyen lawyer blasts Singapore". The Age. 30 November 2005.
  11. ↑ Daniel Hoare (July 2007). "AUSTRALIAN EXCEPTIONALISM - The Bali Nine and the future of the death penalty". The Monthly. The two Melbourne barristers heading the action are Julian McMahon and Lex Lasry, who worked on the Van Nguyen case in Singapore. They are, as in the Nguyen case, acting pro bono, with their out-of-pocket expenses paid by the Australian government.
  12. ↑ "Bali Nine lawyer confirms Chan and Sukumaran in next group to be executed". 7.30. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bali Nine: Death row blow for Andrew Chan as his clemency is rejected by the president". news.com.au. 22 January 2015.
  14. ↑ "Bali Nine: Lawyers for Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran welcome Indonesia's delay to executions". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "The Painter and The Pastor: Is rehabilitation enough to halt their executions?". Dateline. Special Broadcasting Service. 17 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "Australian of the Year Awards" . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  17. ↑ Doherty, Ben (11 June 2017). "Julian McMahon and Paris Aristotle honoured for defence of human rights". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 June 2017.
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