The five remaining members of the Australian “Bali Nine” drug ring yesterday flew home after 19 years in jail in Indonesia, ending a saga that had frayed relations between the countries.
Indonesian police arrested the nine Australians in 2005, convicting them of attempting to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin off the holiday island of Bali.
The case drew global attention to Indonesia’s unforgiving drug laws, with two members of the gang executed by firing squad, while the others served hefty prison sentences.
Photo: EPA-EFE / Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights
“The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia,” Canberra said in a statement. “The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men returned in the afternoon, adding that he had thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for his “compassion.”
“Australia shares Indonesia’s concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represents,” Albanese said.
“The government will continue to cooperate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime,” he told reporters. “These Australians spent more than 19 years in prison in Indonesia. It was time for them to come home.”
The Australian government did not give further details on the agreement with Jakarta.
An Indonesian lawmaker said the five men had left the country as prisoners, but “all the responsibilities for them” had now passed to Australia.
The men were accompanied on their flight home by three officials from the Australian embassy, another Indonesian official said.
Negotiations over the repatriation of the men reportedly picked up after Prabowo met Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru last month.
The Australian government said it had consistently advocated for them and provided consular support to them and their families during their incarceration.
It asked the media to respect their privacy.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp said the men were now free, and would not have to serve further prison time at home.
Accused “Bali Nine” ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015 despite repeated pleas from the Australian government, which recalled its ambassador at the time.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, months before Renae Lawrence was released after her sentence was commuted.
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