The Denpasar District Court in Bali has sentenced two Australian men to 16 years in prison for the murder of a Melbourne father who was shot at a villa last year.
The defendants, Mevlut Coskun, 22, and Paea Imiddlemore Tupou, 26, were found guilty of the killing of 32-year-old Zivan Radmanovic. The verdict was delivered by Judge Wayan Suarta at the Denpasar District Court on Monday.
Radmanovic was killed when two masked gunmen entered a luxury villa during the night on 14 June. He was staying at the property as part of a birthday celebration for his wife, Jazmyn Gourdeas.
During the hearing, the court ruled that the defendants had been legally and convincingly proven guilty of premeditated murder under Indonesian law.
“The judge sentences the defendant Mevlut Coskun and the defendant Paea Imiddlemore Tupou to 16 years in prison each,” the judge said, as quoted by AntaraNews.
The sentence handed down by the court is two years lower than the 18-year prison term previously sought by prosecutors from the Badung District Attorney’s Office.
The court also ruled that the period the defendants had already spent in detention would be fully deducted from their prison sentences.
Court Finds Evidence of Planned Shooting
In delivering the verdict, the court concluded that the shooting had been planned in advance.
According to the judge, Coskun and Tupou carried out the attack together with another defendant, Darcy Francesco Jenson, whose case was tried separately.
The court found that the defendants had systematically prepared the shooting that resulted in Radmanovic’s death and the injury of another witness, Sanar Ghanim.
The judge stated that the defendants violated Article 459 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of the same law.
They were also found guilty under several additional provisions cited in the cumulative indictment presented by the Public Prosecutor from the Badung District Attorney’s Office.
These provisions included Article 17 paragraph (1) and Article 306 of Law Number 1 of 2023 concerning the Criminal Code, also in conjunction with Article 20 letter c of the same legislation.
The court concluded that the defendants had directly carried out the shooting that led to the death of Radmanovic and the injury of Ghanim.
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Separate Sentence for Third Defendant
The trial was attended by members of the victim’s family. During the hearing, the judge also referred to the involvement of an unidentified figure who allegedly funded the operation.
According to the court, this individual paid for the airline tickets, the villa rental, and the weapons used in the attack. The person was also said to have ordered the shooting.
However, the judge stated that the identity of this individual remains unknown.
Despite the uncertainty over the person’s identity, the court said it was clear that the figure had orchestrated the murder of witness Sanar Ghanim.
In a separate case, Darcy Francesco Jenson received a prison sentence of 12 years.
The court found Jenson guilty of assisting the other two defendants by arranging accommodation, pick-ups, and transportation.
Following the verdict, the defendants were given seven days to decide whether they will appeal the ruling or accept the sentence.
