Two Foreigners Wanted as Pedophiles Extradited from Bali

(8/8/2009)

After sitting behind bars at Bali's Kerobokan prison for nearly eight months, a man on Interpol's Most Wanted List, 46 year-old Christian Burger, is now in France to face child sexual abuse charges. Burger, who has both French and Swiss citizenship, was placed on a plane to Paris on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, following the issuance of a letter agreeing to his extradition signed by Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

That President Yudhoyono has issued the needed letter on Monday, August 3rd, was confirmed by Public Prosecutor I Ketut Sujaya, SH.

Radar Bali reports that prior to his departure from the Kerobokan Prison at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Burger received a medical check from prison doctors. He was taken directly from the prison to Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport accompanied by Department of Justice officials and placed on board a Thai Airways flight that departed at 3:30 p.m. connecting in Bangkok with another Thai flight destined for Paris. Two officers from Interpol joined Burger on his repatriation flight.

Prior to his extradition, Burger, who originally hails from La Chaux Canton De Vaux in Switzerland, had the term of his imprisonment in Bali extended 8 separate times while the necessary paperwork were processed allowing his deportation and extradition.

Working on am Interpol warrant, Bali police tracked Burger down to an address in downtown Denpasar and arrested him on October 26, 2008. When apprehended, Burger was reportedly living in rented quarters with his wife and child. Police also found camera equipment and a laptop containing pictures of naked Indonesian children.

In France, Christian Burger is wanted in connection with an un-served sentence of four years for his conviction for violating the decency of a 15 year-old minor child.

After fleeing France in 1997 and prior to his arrest. Burger had resided in Thailand, the U.S.A., Mexico, Australia before commencing residency in Bali in 1998.

Suspected Australian Pedophile also Extradited

A 48 year-old Australian was also extradited on Thursday, August 6, 2009, in connection with the charge of assaulting a teenage girl.

Paul Francis Callahan was apprehended by Bali police in January after having run a surfing company in Bali for five years. At the time of his arrest, Callahan had an Indonesian wife and a daughter.

The Australian press reports that Callahan had fled Australia in 2002 following his interrogation in connection with the sexual assault of a minor female that occurred in Byron Bay.

A spokesman for he the Indonesian Justice Ministry said the apprehension and extradition of the two men should send a warning that: "Indonesia was not a refuge for people avoiding the law in their homelands. It also demonstrates that foreigners entering Indonesia must obey all the laws and not feel they can do as they like."