Bali Nine ‘hopeful’ of transfer to Australia but braced for disappointment

News of the Australian prisoners’ intended transfer threatens to become a political football just days before Indonesian regional elections this Wednesday.

Matthew Norman inside Kerobokan jail. Picture. Lukman S. Bintoro

The Indonesian wife of Bali Nine prisoner Matthew Norman says she and her husband are both praying that President Prabowo Subianto will show mercy and ­follow through on a mooted ­transfer of all five convicted Australian drug traffickers as soon as next month.

Anita Norman told reporters outside Bali’s Kerobokan prison, where her husband has served ­almost two decades in jail, that Norman had proven to authorities over many years that he had rehabilitated and “is good”.

“If God has mercy on us I believe our President will have mercy as well, especially for Matthew as he’s been doing amazing things inside,” she said.

“Matthew was just 18 years old at that time (of his arrest) and he’s been here for 20 years.”

He had suffered terribly after his mother’s death last year as he could not be by her side when she died, she added.

“Now his father is already very old and it would be so sad if they can’t meet. So please pray for him.”

Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Law and Security Yusril Ihza Mahendra revealed exclusively to The Australian on Friday that Anthony Albanese had requested all five remaining Bali Nine prisoners be transferred back to Australia during talks with Mr Prabowo on the sidelines of this month’s APEC summit in Peru.

Mr Mahendra said Jakarta expected to “implement” the transfer next month, which would mean the men would serve additional time in Australian jails.

But as domestic political heat rises over the transfer in Indo­nesia – where there is little sympathy for drug traffickers – the new Prabowo administration, which took office only last month, is now seeking to play down the issue.

News of the intended transfer came just days before Indo­nesia’s regional elections, and some opposition MPs had sought to earn political mileage out of the issue.

Kerobokan prison doctor Agung Hartawan said on Monday that both Norman and fellow Bali Nine Kerobokan prisoner Si Yi Chen were healthy and feeling hopeful, but were also steeling themselves for disappointment.

Matthew James Norman helping others prisoner in an English class at Kerobokan jail in Bali. Picture: News Corp

“They’re happy. Very happy. That’s their hope. But everything isn’t finalised yet ...” he said.

“They’re trying to protect themselves emotionally. They don’t want to fall too hard if it doesn’t happen.”

Dr Hartawan said he believed the two men deserved to be transferred and ultimately released after years of model behaviour.

“They’ve done many positive things. They don’t cause trouble. They follow all the rules and work in the workshop,” he said.

Norman, 38, and Chen, 39, are both involved in prison rehabilitation programs aimed at helping re-skill inmates. Chen runs a silversmith workshop, Mules Jewels, while Norman runs English and computer classes.

Scott Rush, 38, had successfully undergone drug rehabilitation in the Bangli Narcotics Jail, in Bali’s north, while Michael Czugaj and Martin Stephens are in different jails in Java.

Norman and Rush were the youngest of the nine Australians arrested in April 2005, as they attempted to smuggle 8.3kg of ­heroin back to Australia from Bali.

Alleged ringleaders Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in 2015, despite appeals and vigorous protests from the Australian government and public; the other seven were handed life sentences.

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. Picture: AP

Renae Lawrence, the only woman of the nine, successfully appealed for a sentence reduction to 20 years for co-operating with authorities, and was ultimately released in late November 2018. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in East Java in 2018.

Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto told The Australian on Monday the proposed transfer of the five remaining Bali Nine prisoners – Norman, Chen, Rush, Stephens and Czugaj – was “still under discussion”. He said the country’s 2022 corrections law allowed for prisoner transfers, though a specific law still needed to be enacted to provide the legal mechanics for such moves.

It was also possible the Pra­bowo administration could use its policy discretion to make it happen, taking into account the time served by the prisoners and the “burden” they placed on the country’s overcrowded prison system. “As Co-ordinating Law Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said, they (Bali Nine) have acknowledged Indonesia’s sovereignty, the Indonesian legal system, and are willing to serve their remaining sentences in their home country,” Mr Andrianto said.

“If this ensures no future issues, we might consider the transfer of some prisoners as requested by certain countries.”

The federal government is not alone in pushing for the Australian drug traffickers’ remission – in 2021, Bali’s Correctional Board recommended all three Bali-held prisoners – Rush, Norman and Chen – be granted sentence remissions for model behaviour.