Indonesia’s draft conditions for return of remaining Bali Nine prisoners to Australia

Indonesia has drafted a road map for transferring the remaining members of the Bali Nine home, with four key asks of Australia.

Indonesia has handed Australia a road map for bringing the remaining members of the Bali Nine home, asking to “monitor” what happens to the prisoners when they return and leaving the door open for possible “reciprocation” in the future.

In a surprise move, the Indonesian government has also indicated despite having never granted amnesty or a pardon in a narcotics case, it would not be a deal breaker if Australia chose to do so after the transfer of prisoners.

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra met Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Jakarta. Picture: Bay Ismoyo/AFP

The federal government has been advocating for the return of the five Australian men, who were arrested in 2005 trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin out of Bali, on compassionate grounds arguing their almost 20 years spent in Indonesian prison has been long enough.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was given the draft transfer proposal when he met with Indonesia’s senior minister on legal affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Jakarta late on Tuesday, and said the pair worked through “very different issues” in each of the countries’ legal systems, though some had “not yet been resolved”.

Mr Burke declined to comment on the remaining issues as he had only just received the document, adding he had “full respect for the Indonesian legal system”.

Indonesia has provided Australia with a draft proposal for the return of the Bali Nine. Picture: Bay Ismoyo/AFP

But Mr Yusril confirmed the first condition for a prisoner transfer would be “recognition of the sovereignty of the Indonesian state and then respect for the decisions of the Indonesian courts”.

“Then we will transfer them to the country concerned,” he said.

Mr Yusril said Indonesia would “respect the authority” of Australia to “grant pardon, remission or amnesty to the prisoner concerned”.

“We ask that we continue to have access to monitor what happens to convicts who are transferred to their country and we hope that this principle can be carried out reciprocally,” he said.

“Meaning that if one day the Indonesian government also asks that Indonesian citizen convicts in the country concerned be returned, it will be considered by the country concerned.”

Bali Nine members Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj. Picture: Supplied

Despite the request for future reciprocation, Mr Yusil made it clear the Bali Nine case was not about an “exchange” of prisoners, but a one-sided “transfer” from Indonesia to Australia.

Mr Yusil said the final demand from Indonesia was that people involved in narcotics cases “cannot enter Indonesian territory for the rest of your life”.

Mr Yusril said he hoped an agreement to return the five men – Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen – could be finalised “as soon as possible”.

International law expert Professor Donald Rothwell said Indonesia had made its offer and it was now up to Australia to make sure the prisoner transfer can happen from its side.

“The difficulty that I see is that Australia and Indonesia don’t have a prisoner transfer agreement in place,” he told 4BC.

“Tony (Burke) is going to be coming back to Australia, working with Australian government lawyers to see what Australia can do on the Australian side to make this happen,” he said.

Originally published as Indonesia’s draft conditions for return of remaining Bali Nine prisoners to Australia