- Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran admit role
- Admission is part of death sentence appeal
- President shows no mercy to drug smugglers

AUSTRALIAN Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran have for the first time admitted their roles in the Bali Nine drug ring as part of their final appeal against their death sentences.

Lawyers for the Sydney pair launched their long-awaited appeal, known as a judicial review, with the Denpasar District Court this morning.

`Our main reason for this appeal is (that) based on human rights, no one should be punished with the death penalty,` lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said.

`They should be punished with no more than 20 years in jail.`

In appeal documents, the pair finally admit they were involved in the heroin smuggling plot despite repeatedly pleading not guilty at their earlier trials.

The appeal argues previous court decisions erroneously found the pair guilty of exporting drugs even though they were arrested before an exportation took place.

The appeal asks the Supreme Court to also consider how radically the pair has changed by becoming leaders and role models inside Bali`s Kerobokan Prison.

Four witnesses will be asked to testify at fresh appeal hearings likely to take place next month, Mr Lubis said.

Chan, 26, and Sukumaran, 29, were two of nine Australians convicted over the 2005 plot to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia.

Their judicial reviews are being launched less than a month after fellow Bali Nine death row inmate Scott Rush launched his own.

A panel of three judges is expected to begin hearing that appeal - which pushes for a 15-year sentence for the 24-year-old - next Wednesday.

If the final appeals fail, the three men will be left with just one last chance to avoid the firing squad: clemency from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

But Dr Yudhoyono typically shows no mercy to drug smugglers.

Five other members of the drug smuggling plot - Martin Stephens, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen and Tan Duc Than Nguyen - are serving life sentences in Bali`s Kerobokan Prison.

Stephens` judicial review is currently being considered by Indonesia`s Supreme Court.

The final member of the drug ring, courier Renae Lawrence, is serving a 20-year sentence.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world/bali-nine-pair-admit-to-smuggling-role/story-e6frfkyi-1225904977386#ixzz0wSuCNhtw