The family of slain Australian Zivan Radmanovic calls for a harsher sentence, framing the case as a test of Indonesia’s justice system and international security.
DENPASAR, Bali — As a Bali court moves toward a verdict in a premeditated murder that shocked the island’s expatriate community, the grieving family of the victim is raising a solemn, public challenge. The legal team for the family of Australian Zivan Radmanovic has declared the prosecutors’ requested prison terms for his three alleged killers insufficient, calling on judges to deliver a sentence that truly reflects the crime’s severity and upholds the “dignity of the law.”
Radmanovic was killed, and his countryman Sanar Ghanim was wounded, in a targeted shooting at a villa in Munggu, Badung, in June 2025. The prosecution, in its demand last Monday, sought an 18-year sentence for two of the accused, Mevlut Coskun (22) and Paea-i-Middlemore Tupou (26), and 17 years for the alleged mastermind, Darcy Francesco Jenson (27). While substantial, these requests have been met with profound disappointment from the victim’s widow, who views them as disproportionately lenient for a planned, execution-style killing.
‘A Profound and Lasting Wound’
Speaking for the family, their lawyer, Sary Latief, conveyed the devastating personal toll. “The victim leaves behind a wife and six children, including very young ones,” Sary stated. The killing did not just take a life, he explained, but “a father figure,” stripping the family of safety, stability, and a future irrevocably altered.
The widow, who has not returned to Bali since the crime due to security concerns, believes the attack was “a deliberate, planned, and jointly executed murder using firearms.” This perception of a cold, coordinated act underpins the family’s stance that the legal response must be unequivocally severe—a stance that sees the current 17- and 18-year demands as falling short.
A Case with Wider Implications
The family’s legal counsel has strategically framed the trial as more than a routine criminal proceeding. Sary argued the case carries “broad implications,” touching on public safety, witness protection, and ultimately, “the credibility of Indonesia’s judicial system in handling serious cross-border crime.”
By highlighting the use of illegal firearms and the transnational nature of the accused—all Australians—the appeal positions the upcoming verdict as a signal to the international community. It asks whether Indonesia’s courts will deliver what the family terms “substantive justice” and a clear “state message against organized crime,” a message they feel would be diluted by the sentences currently on the table.
A Call for Justice, Amidst Cooperation
Despite their profound disagreement with the prosecution’s sentencing demands, the Radmanovic family has chosen a path of respectful engagement with the Indonesian legal process. Sary emphasized they remain “cooperative and respect the judicial proceedings in Indonesia.” Their planned physical attendance at the Denpasar District Court was ultimately deemed too risky, a decision that itself speaks to the lingering shadows of fear and instability the crime cast.
For Bali, a place built on an image of tranquil safety, this painful public appeal from a grieving family cuts through the paradise narrative. It underscores a sobering reality: when violent crime breaches the island’s borders, the pursuit of justice becomes a delicate, high-stakes process watched by a global audience. As the judges retire to consider their verdict, they do so with the weight of a family’s shattered life—and their explicit rejection of the proposed punishment—resting in the balance.
