Accused Aussies wait for word from Peru

Six young Australians accused of murder in Peru look set to be placed on Interpol's most wanted list, after a hotel doorman fell to his death.

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They were six young Australian adventurers on holiday in Peru.

After a four day trek at Macchu Picchu, they took a twenty-one hour bus trip to Lima.

Among the group were Jessica Vo, Hugh and Tom Hanlon from Melbourne, and Andrew Pilat, Sam Smith and Harrison Geier from Sydney.

In January last year they checked into a Lima apartment building.

On the same day, the building's doorman, Lino Rodriguez Vilchez, plunged fifteen floors to his death.

Witnesses spoke to local media, saying it was an accident.

'He was cleaning in the roof and then stumbled', one said.

Six months later, Peruvian TV reported that police now believed the doorman had been thrown from a balcony.

The Australians, by this point back home, were prime suspects.

On Sunday morning in Sydney, Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said he'd met with some of the students.

"They and their families are continuing to receive assistance from the embassy in Lima and from the foreign minister", he told reporters.

"There's been very high level contact between the Australian government and the government of Peru but I can't comment further because it's not in the interests of these young people that I do so."

The Peruvian authorities say an international arrest warrant will be lodged against all six if they fail to appear at a three day court hearing next month.

The six have asked for a waiver, offering instead to make statements from Australia.

International law expert Don Rothwell from the Australian National University told SBS he thought that at the current point in time, the Australian government would be unlikely to act.

'More than likely the Australian government would take the view that until such a time as Peru had issued an extradition request for these Australians, the Australian government probably wouldn't take this any further."

Today the six Australians launched a Facebook page in their names.

They say they're fighting for justice - victims of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.



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Source: SBS


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