Triple J Poll Used By Indonesia To Help Justify Bali Nine Executions (Updated)

A poll conducted by research company Roy Morgan Research and discussed on triple j's Hack program in late January has been cited by Indonesian officials as sufficient grounds to declare that the majority of Australians support the impending executions of convicted Bali Nine smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

The poll was conducted via SMS over the Australia Day long weekend, with the results airing on 27 January. It asked respondents whether, in their opinion, an Australian convicted of drug trafficking in another country and sentenced to death should have to face the penalty. According to reports, just more than half of the 2123 respondents — 52% — replied in the affirmative.

The Indonesian government has said the results of the poll demonstrate the fact that, according to Attorney-General H.M. Prasetyo, "many Australians support the execution and it is one of the things that pushes us to feel we are not making a mistake".

Canberra-based Indonesian ambassador Nadjib Riphat Kesoema added: "We can say that 52% of Australians support Indonesia's position."

As the ABC reports, the loose interpretation of the poll has caused considerable distress among those dedicated to saving the men's lives, with Australian Catholic University vice-chancellor and Mercy campaign supporter Greg Craven telling the national broadcaster, "If these two men really are executed then the radio station that commissioned the poll, the people who delivered that poll, and the people who answered that poll in the affirmative will know that they have had a part, no matter how small, in the death of two other people."

"It asked a theoretical question, which is, 'Are you in favour of people being executed if they breach foreign law?'," he continued. "The real question is, 'Are you in favour of the two reformed Australians Andrew and Myuran having their heads blown off or their hearts blown out for smuggling drugs, for which they would have gone to jail in most other countries?' "

Either way, time is running out for Mercy campaigners to achieve clemency for the pair — they were recently confirmed as being scheduled to die in the next round of executions.

UPDATE: Triple j have responded to theMusic.com.au's request for comment, and has stressed that the poll was not paid for by the station. "It was a Roy Morgan poll, the research was conducted by them and triple j did not pay for it," a triple j representative said. "Roy Morgan shared the results with a number of media outlets, including Hack, who reported on it last Tuesday."

An earlier version of this story stated the poll had been conducted "on behalf" of triple j; though the station denies this is the case, the Hack website itself refers to the survey as "an exclusive Roy Morgan poll for Hack".

Hack host Tom Tilley will be making a statement on the controversy on this evening's program. Tune in to triple j from 5.30pm.