An Australian mother of five faces the death penalty in Taiwan after being arrested with a stash of cocaine hidden in her suitcase.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags in her luggage.
Taiwanese police say she was carrying 15 pounds of drugs which, they say, she initially “vehemently denied” having any knowledge of.
She later claimed that her ex-husband, John, was behind the scheme, according to police.
Ms Voulgaris’ lawyer, Leon Huang, said it was “essential” that her ex spoke out because he was the only person who could confirm her claims.
Under Taiwan’s strict legal system, capital punishment remains legal, despite attempts to repeal it. The death penalty can be imposed for a long list of crimes, including murder, treason, terrorism, extreme cases of rape and robbery, and drug trafficking.
Although Taiwan has studied other methods of execution, such as lethal injection, executions today are carried out by shooting with a handgun.
Condemned prisoners are put to sleep and placed face down on a mattress and shot three times in the heart. If the prisoner chose to donate his internal organs, he is then executed with a single bullet to the back of the head.
Even if she is not sentenced to death, the mother faces a minimum of five years in prison, but could also be sentenced to life in prison.
Debbie Voulgaris faces death penalty in Taiwan
Voulgaris allegedly received Category 1 drugs in Malaysia around December 10 before flying to Taiwan, the ABC reported.
The Australian mother was allegedly paid $1,800 (£1,400) to take the drugs, on top of her accommodation and transport costs.
The street value of the drugs was around $1.25 million (£1 million), according to Chen Po-chuan, captain of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Mr. Po-chaun said Voulgaris told authorities she was in Taiwan for vacation.
He said police had been sent to his hotel to see if anyone was coming to collect the drugs, but no one had arrived.
Voulgaris has been held in a Taiwanese prison since her arrest.
His lawyer, Leon Huang, said his client was a “good-natured person” who “easily believed people” and had been used as a drug “mule.”
“Based on her description… it appeared that, firstly, Ms Debbie Voulgaris was unaware of the nature of her trip,” Mr Huang said.
“And secondly, she had no idea what was placed inside and under her luggage, because there is a hidden compartment and she was not aware of it.”
Mr. Huang said that because his client admitted her guilt early on, while claiming she did not know about the drug, she could avoid the death penalty.
“If the court finds someone worthy of sympathy, as in Debbie’s case, they generally won’t want to offer the option of the death penalty,” he said.
Taoyuan District prosecutors claimed Voulgaris was part of a “drug transportation syndicate” in documents submitted to a Taiwanese court.
“Although the accused confessed to the crime during the pre-court proceedings, it is noted that she had previously vehemently denied the crime during the investigation and custodial interrogation by this court, and his statements were inconsistent,” the documents state.
“Notably, the defendant claimed that the co-conspirator, John, who directed her to bring Tier 1 narcotics to Taiwan, was her ex-husband, indicating a close relationship.
“The defendant and her lawyer have requested that John be summoned to testify during the pre-trial proceedings, which suggests that there remains a risk of collusion with John before his testimony.”
In Taiwan, category 1 drugs refer to heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine and their derivative products.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her luggage.
John’s exact whereabouts are unclear. Mr. Huang said the legal team was seeking to subpoena him.
Voulgaris has been denied visits from family members, but she is able to receive visits from her legal team and officials from the Australian office in Taipei.
A request for her release was rejected in March, with judges Cai Yirong and Hou Jingyun finding there was substantial evidence she was a flight risk.
His lawyers had argued that their client had not spoken with his family in three months, that he had difficulty adjusting to Chinese food and that he did not speak Chinese.
However, the judges ruled that these were “not factors to be taken into account in determining the necessity of detention”.
“It is noted that the defendant’s daughter knows John’s contact details, so it cannot be ruled out that the defendant could use his daughter to contact John, making this request (for contact) unacceptable,” they said .
Voulgaris will next appear in court in August. She faces the death penalty or life in prison if convicted or a minimum of five years in prison.
However, the chances of her receiving the death penalty are unlikely after Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled last August that imposing the death penalty or capital punishment for offenses related to the drug was partly unconstitutional.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said an Australian woman detained in Taiwan was receiving consular assistance.
A petition on change.org for Voulgaris’ release received 3,000 signatures.
“Everyone who knows her or has met her understands the pure and good heart she has,” the petition author wrote.
“She is a mother of five children and she faces the death penalty or life in prison. Please sign the petition to help free an innocent and pure-hearted mother.
Authorities reportedly discovered 7 kg of cocaine and heroin in his luggage (photo)
On April 23 this year, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court debated the death penalty and its compatibility with the country’s constitution.
This was after rights groups Amnesty International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty challenged the constitutionality of the practice in the country.
When the challenge was presented in 2023, Eeling Chiu, director of Amnesty International Taiwan, said: “This historic challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty in Taiwan is an opportunity not to be missed.
“The death penalty is a violation of human rights and human dignity and must be relegated to the history books once and for all. The protection of human rights cannot be compromised.
According to Focus Taiwan, the debate lasted five hours this year.
Lawyers representing both sides discussed several topics, including whether the death penalty violates the rights to life and equality, the principle of proportionality, as well as the United Nations treaty on civil rights.
Three judges recused themselves from the case, leaving 12. They are expected to deliver their judgment in July, the outlet reported.
Although there is a long list of crimes punishable by death under Taiwanese law, all executions in the country since the early 2000s have been for murder.
Before 2000, Taiwan had a relatively high rate of executions, but controversial cases in the 1990s and a change in attitudes toward capital punishment have led to a decline in the number of executions since the turn of the century.
Three took place in 2005, then none between 2006 and 2009. Executions resumed in 2010, and 35 have taken place since.
Amnesty International declared in 2023 that no executions had taken place in the country since 2020.
However, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 49 people are currently under sentence of death.
According to a study by the Asian Journal of Criminology, approximately 80% of the Taiwanese population supports the use of capital punishment.
The execution process involves some of Taiwan’s highest-ranking officials.
A judicial execution requires a final sentence from the Taiwan Supreme Court and an execution warrant signed by the Minister of Justice, which also sets a final, secret execution date.
Once the warrant is issued, the prisoner must be executed within three days.
If new evidence or evidence of a procedural defect emerges, the execution date may be delayed. However, this only happened once.
The Taiwanese president can also grant clemency, but again this is rare.
We know that those sentenced to death are detained in harsher conditions than those of the general population. It is believed that they are no longer chained for 24 hours, as was once the case, but are only allowed out of their cells for 30 minutes a day.
Voulgaris was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport (photo, file photo) in December. There is no suggestion that the people pictured are involved in the alleged crime.
The executions took place at 7:30 p.m. and took place in secret. No one is informed of the date, including the condemned.
When the time comes, they are brought to the execution stand where the prisoner’s identity is confirmed by a special court, which may also record his last words.
The prisoner is then given a final meal, which usually includes a bottle of kaoliang wine, before strong anesthesia is administered to induce loss of consciousness.
The prisoner is then laid flat on the ground and shot, either in the heart or – if he is an organ donor – in the brainstem under the ear. It is traditional for the condemned to place a bank note in their leg irons as a tip to the executioners.
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