By Marissa Calligeros, James Massola, David Crowe and Michael Bachelard
The mother of former Australian drug convict Schapelle Corby said she could not stop crying when she heard the five remaining members of the Bali Nine drug smuggling syndicate might be returned to Australia, saying, “they’ve done their time, bring them home”.
Rosleigh Rose Corby, who visited Schapelle over the almost 10 years she spent in Kerobokan prison for smuggling marijuana to Indonesia, said she had met all five remaining prisoners and “they all seemed polite, lovely boys”.
Bali Nine prisoner Matthew Norman (right), his father Michael and Matthew’s partner, Anita, at the jail in 2017.Credit: Amilia Rosa
“Don’t get me wrong, they did the wrong thing, but some of the boys helped Schapelle a lot when she was going through a hard time, and most of them had very lovely families who cared a lot,” Corby said.
“Some of them were so young. Matthew [Norman] was just so young. You know, he just didn’t understand.” Norman was 18 when he was arrested.
The potential return to Australia of Norman, Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, Si Yi Chen and Scott Rush was revealed last week when Indonesian authorities confirmed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had asked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to approve the transfer.
Indonesia’s Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, confirmed on Monday that Prabowo had agreed in principle, though the method and terms of any return remain uncertain.
Then-prime minister Scott Morrison with Indonesia’s then-president Joko Widodo in 2020.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
On Sunday, it became clear that diplomatic efforts to secure the group’s transfer to Australia had extended for years, and that the past two Liberal prime ministers, Scott Morrison and Malcolm Turnbull, had made the same request of the Indonesian authorities.
A source close to Morrison, who asked not to be named, confirmed that the matter was raised on several occasions and that Morrison had spoken directly to his counterpart, Joko Widodo, on the subject.
And Turnbull said diplomats had raised the issue over many years, suggesting that Australia’s policy to bring the remaining five convicted heroin smugglers home had at one point been bipartisan.
“I hope the new president is merciful,” Turnbull told this masthead, but warned that Australia “shouldn’t be demanding or lecturing”.
“You’re appealing to their compassion and their mercy, that’s what you’re doing. This task of urging foreign governments to be merciful to Australians overseas is what our diplomats and our political leaders do, day in, day out. It’s about protecting Australians.”
Former Liberal MP Philip Ruddock, who was attorney-general when the Bali nine were arrested, said he was still in occasional contact with prisoner Scott Rush and would welcome the group’s transfer.
“I think Australians are always entitled to return and for their sentences to be served out here in Australia,” he said.
The comments appear to contrast with those of the current shadow attorney-general, Michaelia Cash, who told Sky News at the weekend that drug offences were “some of the worst offences our society sees”, and said the return of the five prisoners would not be a priority for her in government.
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Bishop Timothy Harris, who has spoken up for several of the Bali Nine and their families from his Catholic diocese of Townsville, called for all sides to avoid rancorous debate and show respect for the Indonesian authorities while they decided their response.
“What worries me here is we have a political fight about this in our own country,” Harris said. “We are dealing with the lives of a handful of people – and these guys were the mules, they were not the ringleaders.
“I just worry that if anyone starts agitating the Indonesian government from here, I don’t think that would go down very well.”
In Indonesia, details of how the transfer would be achieved are yet to be settled. As well as the five Australians, Indonesia is contemplating repatriating a Philippine drug courier, Mary Jane Veloso, and a number of convicted drug traffickers from France.
Among the options appear to be clemency, signed off by the president, in which case the five Australians could be released straight away. Authorities could also approve a sentence reduction from life to 20 years, in which case the five could be released early next year. A third option is a prisoner swap, under arrangements that do not exist at present.
However, officials have insisted that the prisoners must serve out their full life sentences if they are returned to Australia.
Late on Monday, Norman’s wife, known only as Anita, dropped off food for him at the jail and begged that, “if God have mercy on us, I believe the president will have mercy too because Matthew is doing amazing things inside [the prison]“.
“Last year, his mother passed away. Hopefully, there will be mercy … Our president is good, definitely good. We continue praying.”
Matthew Norman’s wife, known only as Anita, delivers food to him at Kerobokan prison on Monday.Credit: Amilia Rosa
On multiple occasions over many years, prison officials have supported the requests of the five to have their life sentences commuted to 20-year terms. However, that has never been approved by officials in Jakarta.
Kerobokan prison doctor Agung Hartawan said on Monday: “They wanted to go home. The sooner, the better. I would joke with them, saying, ‘I’m tired of looking at your faces, go, go home’. But I will definitely miss them. I pray they can go home soon.”
Agus Setiawan, an official at Bangli prison, where Scott Rush is being held, said Rush was “just waiting” for the process to unfold. “He is his normal self ... Nothing out of the ordinary. He’s calm.”
The governor of Kerobokan prison, where Norman and Chen are still housed, told reporters he had not heard anything of the proposed prisoner swap. Asked if the justice ministry had advised him of the policy he said, “Nothing yet. I don’t even know about it.”
with Michael Bachelard, Amilia Rosa, Karuni Rompies
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