Three Australians accused of premeditated murder in Bali villa could face the death penalty

Three Australians accused of shooting a Melbourne man in a Bali villa are set to be charged with premeditated murder, an offence punishable by the death sentence.

Melbourne man Zivan Radmanovic, 32, was fatally gunned down in the bathroom of Villa Casa Santisya near Munggu Beach, in Bali’s Badung district in June.

Radmanovic’s partner Jazmyn reportedly hid under a blanket during the attack that occurred as the pair holidayed on the popular resort island, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. A second individual, Sanar Ghanim, a 34-year-old man from Melbourne, survived the attack.

Police found 17 bullet casings and two intact bullets at the scene, while witnesses told investigators that two gunmen had arrived on a scooter at the villa around midnight.

Three Australian men, Darcy Jenson, 27, Paea-I-Middlemore Tupou, 27, and Coskun Mevlut, 22, were subsequently arrested in relation to the case and in July were forced to re-enact the alleged shooting, a standard part of police investigations in Indonesia.

One of the suspects was arrested at a Jakarta airport days after Radmanovic’s death, while the other two who had left Indonesia were returned via coordination from Interpol in south-east Asia, Bali police chief Insp. Gen. Daniel Adityajaya told reporters.

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Public prosecutors in Bali said on Wednesday that the three men were suspected of committing premeditated murder in relation to Zivan Radmanovic, and attempted premeditated murder against Sanar Ghanim.

The three are accused, among other charges, of violating article 340 of Indonesia’s criminal code, which carries a maximum penalty of capital punishment, followed by life imprisonment.

The prosecutor’s office did not specify in its notice on Wednesday when court proceedings would begin or the motive for the alleged murder.

Badung police chief M. Arief Batubara said investigators had completed the case files, which were declared legally sufficient for prosecution.

“Today, we completed the second phase of the process. Both the suspects and the evidence have been handed over to the prosecutors,” Arief told reporters, as reported by the Jakarta Globe. “The suspects have been cooperative throughout the investigation.”

A lawyer for Jenson did not immediately respond to queries from the Guardian.