Aussies forced to spend the festive season in the world’s worst prisons

A former Greens candidate and a democracy activist are among the expats spending Christmas behind bars.

As the five Bali 9 mules enjoy their first taste of freedom in 19 years back on Australian soil, the high profile case was a reminder Aussies are no strangers to foreign jails.

Data from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade shows more than 15,200 cases of consular assistance were lodged in 2023-24, with 865 of those for Australians who were arrested or detained overseas.

The 17 per cent jump on the previous year was led by calls for help from Aussies arrested or detained in China, the US, Singapore, Japan and the Philippines, with 117 of those cases for drug-related arrests.

Consular assistance was also provided to 338 Australians who were already jailed in countries including China, the US, Vietnam, the Philippines, and New Zealand.

What to do if you are arrested abroad?

If you are arrested overseas, the Australian government can’t get you out of jail but you have the right to contact them by speaking to someone from the nearest Australian consulate or embassy.

“Contacting the consulate is the first thing you should do. Many countries are signatories to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations so are willing to communicate with consulate representatives,” criminal law specialist and principal lawyer at Macedone Legal Sam Macedone said.

Sam Macedone says the first step after getting arrested overseas is to contact the Australian consulate. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

The consulate helps to check on your welfare and organise local legal representation.

“It’s important to get legal advice as soon as possible, especially someone that speaks English in a foreign country. They’ll help you contact your family and keep them up to speed on the legal process,” Mr Macedone said.

As for the best way to avoid getting arrested? Don’t do anything illegal.

“If you’re in a foreign country, you need to be careful. You are subject to their rules and legal system so you need to make sure you check the laws and punishment. In some cases and jurisdictions, it can be death or life in prison,” Mr Macedone said.

The Aussies spending their Christmas in jail overseas

Christmas cheer will be hard to come by for these Aussies, who will be spending the festive season jailed overseas, with charges ranging from drug smuggling to international espionage.

STILL BEFORE COURTS

Veronica Watson, Brazil

Veronica Watson is currently behind bars in Sao Paulo accused of drug smuggling after allegedly attempting to leave the country with cocaine hidden in her suitcase.

The 59-year-old woman is a Sunshine Coast local, grandmother to nine and had previously never left Australia.

Ms Watson’s daughter claimed that her mother was the victim of an online scam, having gone to Brazil for an alleged business deal, according to Channel 7.

Ms Watson will spend Christmas in a Brazilian jail cell. Picture: Supplied/7News

Hakan Ayik, Türkiye

One of Australia’s most wanted criminals, suspected drug trafficker Hakan Ayik was captured in Istanbul in November 2023 during a sting operated that targeted “international organised crime.”

Ayik is a former leader of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club, a gang based in Australia and South East Asia. He has renounced his Australian citizenship meaning that he cannot be extradited to NSW to face the charges.

Hakan Ayik, one of the world's most wanted men, was arrested in Turkey in November 2023. Picture: Supplied

Hakan Arif, Türkiye

Arrested in the same sting as Ayik, Hakan Arif is also an ex-member of the Comanchero and faces similar drug smuggling charges which allege her oversaw the movement of drugs from South America to Australia, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.

Turkish police arrested Hakan Arif in the same 2023 sting as Hakan Ayik. Picture: Contributed

Lisa-Marie Cunningham, United States

Former Adelaide woman Lisa-Marie Cunningham is poised to be the first Australian woman on death row in the United States if convicted of the first-degree murder and abuse of her seven-year-old stepdaughter Sanaa in 2017.

Cunningham, alongside her husband, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Their trial was due to start in September 2024, though their lawyers have applied to the court to postpone it for a “minimum nine months” so they can prepare Cunningham’s defence.

Both Lisa and her husband Germayne Cunningham face the death penalty in the murder case. Picture: Supplied

CONVICTED

John Nikolic, Fiji

Sentenced to 23 years in a Fiji prison, John Nikolic is a former Melbourne and Gold Coast horse trainer who was convicted in March 2019 of smuggling $30m of cocaine on a yacht and the possession of a weapon.

In 2023, after serving five years in prison, he unsuccessfully appealed for his sentence to be reduced following the full acquittal of his wife Yvette Nikolic who was travelling on the yacht with him.

John Nikolic was sentenced to over two decades in prison in 2019. Picture Gary Ramage

Dr Yang Hengjun, China

A writer and democracy activist, Yang Hengjun has been imprisoned in China since 2019 on charges of espionage.

Despite lobbying efforts from the government, the Australian national was given a suspended death sentence in February 2024.

While Mr Hengjun denies his charges, he has refused to appeal his sentence citing a lack of faith in the Chinese justice system and his deteriorating health.

Dr Yang Hengjun has been locked up in China for five years. Picture: Supplied

Robert Pether, Iraq

Robert Pether reached a bleak 1000-day milestone this year after being convicted in Iraq on fraud charges in 2021. The UN describes his arrest as an “enforced disappearance” that “contravenes international law.”

He originally travelled to Iraq as a mechanical engineer to help rebuild its Central Bank headquarters in Baghdad. After a dispute between his employer and the bank, he and an Egyptian colleague were accused of stealing money from the project. Mr Pether denies the charges.

Robert Pether is originally from Sydney's north shore. Picture: Supplied

Daniel Matthew-Otto, Japan

Daniel Otto was arrested in September last year and found guilty of assault and trespass against a 70-year-old man. He was sentenced to two years in prison but denies the charges.

Otto maintains that the conviction is the result of a language “mix-up.” 

He vaulted a fence in the Takadanobaba neighbourhood to try and inform residents of a gas leak, before shouting to the elderly man in English “go to a door.” This was interpreted as “gōtō da”, which is Japanese for “this is a robbery”.

Daniel Matthew-Otto maintains his innocence despite being found guilty in a Japanese court. Picture: Facebook

Donna Nelson, Japan

Perth grandmother and former Greens candidate for Pearce Donna Nelson was arrested at a Tokyo airport in January 2023 after arriving in Japan with two kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in her suitcase.

Nelson has maintained her innocence and claimed she was the victim of a romance scam, despite being found guilty by a Japanese court and sentenced to six years in prison in early December 2024.

Donna Nelson is in jail in Japan after she was allegedly found with drugs stashed inside a bag. Picture: Supplied

Jake Mastroianni was jailed in Thailand over ecstasy possession. Picture: Facebook

Jake Mastroianni, Thailand

Jake Mastroianni, formerly known in nightclub scene as DJ Badmouth, was given a double life sentence in 2014 after being arrested with ecstasy pills on a seaside resort in Thailand. He refused to plead guilty.

After three years in jail, Mastroianni was moved to a maximum-security prison on the outskirts of Bangkok, where prisoners on death row are also held.