Michael Blanc
Encyclopedia
Michael Loic Blanc is a French
national who was convicted for drug trafficking
in Indonesia
after 3.8 kilograms of hashish
was found in his diving gear
while attempting to enter Bali, Indonesia.
Sentenced to life imprisonment, Blanc is one of 16 foreign inmates being held in Indonesia as of 2005 and currently serving his term in Kerobokan Prison
. His case, which has been compared to imprisoned Australian tourist Schapelle Corby
, has received media coverage by both the French and Indonesian press, being featured on prime time news shows Sept à huit and Tout le monde en parle
.
in the department of Haute-Savoie
in southeastern France
. Leaving the country at age 19, Blanc travelled to Senegal
and later spent time in the Caribbean
, Greece
, India
, Malaysia and Thailand
working at various times as a chef and interior decorator during the 1990s.
He had been living in Bali for a year when, after returning from a recent trip to India, he was detained by immigration officials at Ngurah Rai Airport
on December 26, 1999 after a green-black bag in his possession, containing two diving tanks, was inspected having gone through the X-ray machine
. While in still in custody, Blanc gave his consent to have his luggage inspected by police dogs. Drilling open the tanks, officials found a total of 189 rolls and 178 tablets of hashish, weighing 3.8 kilograms, contained in the diving tanks.
Interviewed by investigators of the Directorate General of Customs
, Blanc denied any knowledge of the drugs claiming the diving tanks belonged to an acquaintance named Philip, a Frenchman of Israel
i descent who lived in Paris
. Having met at a café in Seminyak, Bali, the two travelled to India and, after their return to Bali, Philip had disappeared after Blanc had arrived at the airport. During his interview, he was unable to provide sufficient evidence to identify Philip however.
police detention center where he met with his lawyer Dwi Surya Adibudi SH. Through the French Honorary Consul in Bali, his family was also contacted and, in August 2000, his mother Helene was granted a leave of absence from her accounting job and flew to Bali to attend her son's trial.
During the trial, Blanc's lawyer argued that there had been a breach of procedure by airport officials pointing out Blanc was never inspected in the same room as the piece of evidence in question and was not accompanied by a French-speaking interpreter during his interview with officials. Blanc had also asked police to check the tanks for fingerprints, however the officials failed to comply with his request.
While prosecutors had called for the death penalty in this case, the Denpasar court found Blanc guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced Michael to life in prison on November 16, 2000. He is imprisoned in Kerobokan Prison
on Bali
, Indonesia
.
Helene Le Touzey continued her campaigning for her son's release and, appealing to the Indonesia Supreme Court, Blanc's verdict was upheld and was fined an additional $70,000 on June 14, 2001. During the appeal, a French government official had told Le Touzey that it would cost her between ₣ 800,000 to ₣ 1,000,000 (roughly $203,000-$254,000) to secure a reduced sentence for Blanc however she refused to pay.
The French foreign ministry has since made diplomatic requests for extradition and, in January 2005, French President Jacques Chirac
asked Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
about the possibility of moving Blanc to a French prison while Hassan was speaking at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
national who was convicted for drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after 3.8 kilograms of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
was found in his diving gear
Scuba set
A scuba set is an independent breathing set that provides a scuba diver with the breathing gas necessary to breathe underwater during scuba diving. It is much used for sport diving and some sorts of work diving....
while attempting to enter Bali, Indonesia.
Sentenced to life imprisonment, Blanc is one of 16 foreign inmates being held in Indonesia as of 2005 and currently serving his term in Kerobokan Prison
Kerobokan Prison
Kerobokan Prison is a prison located in Kerobokan, Badung Regency, on the Indonesian island of Bali. The prison opened in 1979 and contains about 1000 male and female prisoners of various nationalities.- Notable prisoners :...
. His case, which has been compared to imprisoned Australian tourist Schapelle Corby
Schapelle Corby
Schapelle Leigh Corby is an Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling who is imprisoned in Indonesia.Corby is serving a 20-year sentence for the importation of of cannabis into Bali, Indonesia...
, has received media coverage by both the French and Indonesian press, being featured on prime time news shows Sept à huit and Tout le monde en parle
Tout le monde en parle
Tout le monde en parle is a French talk show broadcast on France 2 from September 5, 1998 to July 8, 2006. It was hosted by Thierry Ardisson and produced by Catherine Barma....
.
Early life and arrest
The youngest of three children, Michael Blanc was born to Jean-Claude Blanc and Helene Le Touzey in BonnevilleBonneville, Haute-Savoie
Bonneville is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-Geography:Bonneville is on the A40 autoroute, roughly halfway between Geneva and Chamonix...
in the department of Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
in southeastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Leaving the country at age 19, Blanc travelled to Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and later spent time in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Malaysia and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
working at various times as a chef and interior decorator during the 1990s.
He had been living in Bali for a year when, after returning from a recent trip to India, he was detained by immigration officials at Ngurah Rai Airport
Ngurah Rai Airport
Ngurah Rai International Airport , also known as Denpasar International Airport, is located in southern Bali, 13 km south of Denpasar...
on December 26, 1999 after a green-black bag in his possession, containing two diving tanks, was inspected having gone through the X-ray machine
X-ray machine
An X-ray generator is a device used to generate X-rays. These devices are commonly used by radiographers to acquire an x-ray image of the inside of an object but they are also used in sterilization or fluorescence....
. While in still in custody, Blanc gave his consent to have his luggage inspected by police dogs. Drilling open the tanks, officials found a total of 189 rolls and 178 tablets of hashish, weighing 3.8 kilograms, contained in the diving tanks.
Interviewed by investigators of the Directorate General of Customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
, Blanc denied any knowledge of the drugs claiming the diving tanks belonged to an acquaintance named Philip, a Frenchman of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i descent who lived in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Having met at a café in Seminyak, Bali, the two travelled to India and, after their return to Bali, Philip had disappeared after Blanc had arrived at the airport. During his interview, he was unable to provide sufficient evidence to identify Philip however.
Trial and conviction
Arrested by the Denpasar Police, Blanc was held in the DenpasarDenpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
police detention center where he met with his lawyer Dwi Surya Adibudi SH. Through the French Honorary Consul in Bali, his family was also contacted and, in August 2000, his mother Helene was granted a leave of absence from her accounting job and flew to Bali to attend her son's trial.
During the trial, Blanc's lawyer argued that there had been a breach of procedure by airport officials pointing out Blanc was never inspected in the same room as the piece of evidence in question and was not accompanied by a French-speaking interpreter during his interview with officials. Blanc had also asked police to check the tanks for fingerprints, however the officials failed to comply with his request.
While prosecutors had called for the death penalty in this case, the Denpasar court found Blanc guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced Michael to life in prison on November 16, 2000. He is imprisoned in Kerobokan Prison
Kerobokan Prison
Kerobokan Prison is a prison located in Kerobokan, Badung Regency, on the Indonesian island of Bali. The prison opened in 1979 and contains about 1000 male and female prisoners of various nationalities.- Notable prisoners :...
on Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
Appeal and public outcry
Immediately after the appeal, both Adibudi and the prosecution appealed to the Denpasar Appellate Court over the decision, however neither were able to obtain an appeal to overturn the judge's ruling.Helene Le Touzey continued her campaigning for her son's release and, appealing to the Indonesia Supreme Court, Blanc's verdict was upheld and was fined an additional $70,000 on June 14, 2001. During the appeal, a French government official had told Le Touzey that it would cost her between ₣ 800,000 to ₣ 1,000,000 (roughly $203,000-$254,000) to secure a reduced sentence for Blanc however she refused to pay.
The French foreign ministry has since made diplomatic requests for extradition and, in January 2005, French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
asked Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
Hassan Wirajuda
Nur Hassan Wirajuda was the foreign minister of Indonesia from 2001 to 2009. Her serves under presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri andSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono- Educations :...
about the possibility of moving Blanc to a French prison while Hassan was speaking at a hearing with the House of Representatives' Commission I.
External links
- www.michael-blanc.com "Free Michel Blanc" web site
- www.positiveegregores.com About Michael Blanc and Florence Cassez, in French