Bali Nine prisoners will return home to establish prison transfer relationship says Indonesia
Indonesia’s Law Minister has explained why they are really allowing the Bali Nine to serve out the remainder of their sentences at home in Australia.
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The Bali Nine will be permitted to serve the rest of their sentences in Australian jails on humanitarian grounds and to establish a prisoner transfer relationship between the nations.
Indonesian Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas elaborated on the reasons behind the landmark prisoner deal in an interview with Reuters on Saturday.
“This is the president’s discretion, but in principle, the president has agreed on humanitarian grounds,” Mr Supratman said.
“This is important to maintain a good relationship with friendly countries. But this is also in our interest because we have prisoners abroad.”
Mr Supratman said Indonesia was also considering a request from France to repatriate a prisoner.
The decision to transfer the remaining Bali Nine prisoners to Australia to serve out the remainder of their sentence has garnered mixed reactions.
Indonesia’s ruling party member for Bali has slammed the government’s decision to return the Bali Nine prisoners to Australia, meanwhile a leading Bali tourism figure and an Australian bishop have praised the move.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer of the remaining five members of the Bali Nine in a discussion with new president Prabowo Subianto at this month’s APEC conference in Peru, according to The Australian. The transfer could happen as soon as next month.
Nyoman Parta, a member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P), urged the government to uphold the country’s laws on foreign nationals convicted of drug trafficking and make the Bali Nine remain where they are.
“Do not let this country appear weak by ignoring existing laws on the grounds of international co-operation, then repatriating foreign prisoners to their country,” Mr Parta said in a statement to members of the Indonesian House of Representatives.
He said that while such a move could be interpreted as promoting political relations between countries, the decision would only serve to “break the legal system in Indonesia”.
With several international drug networks uncovered operating in Bali in the past 10 years, Mr Parta urged the government to reconsider its decision.
“The Bali Nine case is a case that has received great attention from the world community, Indonesia and especially the Balinese community,” he said.
“And in Bali in the last 10 years, there have often been disclosures of international narcotics network cases. Do not let the repatriation of (the) Bali Nine convicts dampen (weaken) the spirit of eradicating drugs.”
Meanwhile, a leading figure in Bali’s flourishing tourism sector has said he believes sending the Bali Nine back to Australia is the right thing to do.
IGN Rai Suryawijaya, deputy chairman of Bali Hotel and Restaurant Association said that he respected the Indonesian president’s decision.
“Australia have contributed positively to the Bali tourism industry. We have to maintain a good relationship with Australia,” Mr Suryawijaya said.
“On the other side, both countries should also keep working on preventing this kind of extraordinary crime happening again between two countries.”
Mr Suryawijaya said he was acutely aware of the importance of maintaining strong ties with his neighbours in Australia.
The prisoners – Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj – could touch down on Australian soil as soon as next month.
Known as the Bali Nine, the nine Australians were arrested in April 2005 and convicted and sentenced to various punishments ranging from life imprisonment to the death penalty for attempting to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia and back to Australia.
Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and executed on 29 April, 2015.
Tan Duc Than Nguyen died in a Jakarta hospital in 2018.
The only woman of the group, Renae Lawrence, was released in 2018 after her life sentence was successfully reduced to 20 years on appeal.
Townsville Bishop Tim Harris, who has long advocated for the Bali Nine to be returned to Australia has praised the news.
“These are early days but I must say if we can get the Bali Nine (or what’s left of them) home to Australia it will be a very welcome development … it’s wonderful news,” Bishop Harris said.
“My own involvement was really with Scott Rush and his family, in fact Scott and Michael Czugaj had gone to the local Catholic primary schools within the Parish of Corinda Graceville where I was parish priest at the time.
“I became aware of this and when the news broke in 2005 I reached out to the families of Scott and Michael and offered my pastoral support and concern.”
Bishop Harris said he had previously visited Rush and Czugaj in their prison cells in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison in Bali as a sign of his “pastoral care”.
“From day one I did not condone what Scott and Michael had done and I still don’t to this day but the Christian way is to never give up on anybody,” he said.
“I commend the Prime Minister of Australia and the President of Indonesia for this development.
“Scott and the Bali Nine have learnt their lesson and I pray that once back in Australia they will be able to receive the direct support of their families in particular.”
Scott Rush’s family declined to comment.
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