Stephen John Sutton (born 1964) is a man who was imprisoned in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. He was arrested on 4 February 2003 after a joint operation by the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

and Argentine Police. He was charged with narcotics offences and was sentenced in 2005 to 11 years in jail for

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

. He was released November 2008. He was featured in the 13 July 2011 episode of ''Locked Up Abroad'' (titled as ''

Banged Up Abroad ''Banged Up Abroad'' (rebadged as ''Locked Up Abroad'' in Asia and the United States, and ''Jailed Abroad'' in India, for the National Geographic Channel) is a British documentary/docudrama television series created by Bart Layton that was pro ...

'' in the UK). Sutton was last seen by his family in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. At the time, he was living by himself and working in a Sydney factory. It is believed that he had met a

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian woman at his place of employment. He contacted his sister by mail, informed her that he had travelled to Peru with the woman, was living with the family and that the family was treating him wellAustralia–Colombia relations Sutton and his family members maintain his innocence, as he claims that he was asked to courier ''"a quantity of gold"'' from Peru to Argentina. He also claims that when arrested, he had no drugs in his possession. The Sutton family is campaigning for his early release and improved support from the Australian

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...

(DFAT), who they maintain have provided inadequate health careFamily seeks help for man in Argentine jail

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

, 12 November 2005 and legal advice to Sutton and insufficient information to the family. They have also criticised the Australian Government for not making attempts to have him returned to Australia, comparing his case to that of

Schapelle Corby Schapelle Leigh Corby (born 10 July 1977) is an Australian woman who was convicted of drug smuggling, smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. She spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison. Since her arrest, Cor ...

References

External links

* Website maintained by Sutton's family ()
Adelaide Independent Media Centre article, 2 November 2005
(URL accessed: 2 March 2006) 1964 births Living people Australian people imprisoned abroad Place of birth missing (living people) Australian drug traffickers People from Sydney Prisoners and detainees of Argentina {{Australia-stub

See also

References

External links