Australian nationals spending Christmas in overseas jails
For the hundreds of Aussies behind bars in foreign jails, several of whom are still before the courts, this festive season will prove to have little cheer.
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With Julian Assange walking free and the remaining members of the Bali Nine released just 10 days before Christmas, 2024 was a good year for Aussies in long-term detention.
But hundreds of other Australians remain behind bars in foreign jails, several of whom are still before the courts and are facing a festive season with little cheer.
The return of Si Ye Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens brings to an end almost two decades in Indonesian prisons for the five men.
While they are free in Australia, they are banned from ever returning to Indonesia.
The men will be spending Christmas back home with their respective families.
This year saw a six per cent overall increase in Australians being jailed compared to last year, according to figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
Of the 338 Aussies currently imprisoned overseas, most were locked up in China: 64.
This was followed by the United States, with 48; Vietnam 31; the Philippines 22; and New Zealand 21.
In total, 1101 Australians were arrested or detained overseas this year, up from 969 in 2023 – a 17 per cent increase.
Here are some of the most notable inmates banged up abroad this holiday season, including people found guilty and others still awaiting trial.
JORDAN CURRY – United States
The prominent Lone Wolf bikie Jordan Curry pleaded guilty in August to being part of a conspiracy to import cocaine and launder money from South America to Australia, via the United States.
The 42-year-old Australian national was arrested on the Greek island of Mykonos and was extradited to the US, where he was handed a 135-month (11-year) sentence.
DONNA NELSON – Japan
Donna Nelson was arrested in January 2023 at Narita Airport in Tokyo for smuggling methamphetamine into the country in her suitcase.
The 58-year-old grandmother from Perth said she collected the suitcase, which concealed the drugs in its lining, on a stopover in Laos.
Despite claims Nelson was the victim of a romance scam, the Australian citizen was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.
VERONICA WATSON – Brazil
Queensland grandmother Veronica Watson was arrested in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 1.
The 59-year-old was allegedly trying to smuggle 1483g of cocaine out of the country in a secret compartment in her suitcase.
She is currently being held at Santana Women’s Penitentiary and is yet to enter a plea.
Watson and her family claim she was a victim of an online scam.
GREGOR JOHANN HAAS – Philippines
Father of NRL star Payne Haas, Gregor Haas, is being held in the capital of the Philippines, Manila.
Late last year, the alleged member of the Sinaloa cartel was accused of attempting to smuggle over 5kg of methamphetamine into Indonesia.
Gregor Haas is currently in the midst of a detainee swap and could find himself extradited to Indonesia.
The 46-year-old is yet to enter a plea, but he could evade the death penalty if convicted in Indonesia.
MICHAEL and LYNLEY LE GRAND – Indonesia
Victorian couple Michael and Lynley Le Grand, 50 and 44 respectively, were taken into custody in Bali in October this year in relation to their spa business which allegedly offered prostitution services.
Indonesian police may prosecute under Indonesia’s child protection laws, as well as the country’s anti-pornography law.
The couple are yet to enter a plea, however, if found guilty they could face 12 years in prison.
YANG HENGJUN – China
Australian writer and democracy activist Dr Yang Hengjun was given a suspended death sentence in a trial in Beijing this year.
The 59-year-old did not appeal the sentence, citing ill health and a lack of faith in the Chinese court system.
Dr Yang has been imprisoned in China on charges of espionage since 2019.
It is likely that the Australian’s death sentence will be commuted to a life sentence, following two years of good behaviour.
ROBERT PETHER – Iraq
Earlier this year, Australian man Robert Pether spent his 1000th day in an Iraq jail.
Charged in 2021 for fraud, Pether was sentenced to a five-year term and was fined $16 million.
Concerns are rising for his physical and mental wellbeing, with the United Nations Working Group saying in 2021 that Pether had experienced acts of torture and ill treatment.
From behind bars in Baghdad, Pether penned a letter to the Australian government to advocate for his release.
HAKAN AYIK – Turkey
The 45-year-old Turkish-Australian accused drug trafficker Hakan Ayik remains behind bars in Turkey, following his arrest in late 2023 when he and 36 others were captured in Istanbul in a sting operation against the crime ring AN0M.
Ayik was linked to the Comancheros bikie gang and remains on New South Wales’ most-wanted list for “supply of large commercial quantities of drugs”.
Ayik is yet to enter a plea but could be sent to 20 years in prison if convicted.
HAKAN ARIF – Turkey
Caught in the same sting as Hakan Ayik, Arif is also being kept in a Turkish prison after he was refused bail.
The former Comanchero bikie was accused of being a ringleader of an offshore syndicate which oversaw the smuggling of drugs from South America to Australia, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.
Arif has not made a plea yet.
MICHAEL SACATIDES – Indonesia
Sydney man Michael Sacatides will continue serving his 18-year sentence in a Bali prison.
Sacatides was sentenced in 2011 for attempting to smuggle 1.7kg of methamphetamines into Indonesia.
DUSTIN LINKLATER – Indonesia
A former restaurant worker from Darwin, Dustin Linklater, is carrying out a seven-year sentence in an Indonesian prison.
In 2019, Linklater sexually abused a 14-year-old boy when he lured him to his rented house in Indonesia and paid him the equivalent of $11 for oral sex.
ROBERT ANDREW FIDDES ELLIS – Indonesia
Named as Bali’s “worst paedophile”, Robert Ellis is serving a 15-year sentence in Bali for sexually molesting and grooming young girls.
The Victorian man was arrested in 2016, aged 70.
Ellis abused 11 girls aged between 7 and 17 over a period of two years.
LISA CUNNINGHAM – United States
South Australian mother Lisa Cunningham faces possible execution pending the outcome of a trial which may be delayed until mid next year.
It is alleged the mother of six killed her stepdaughter, Sanaa, in 2017.
Cunningham and her partner are in custody and are pleading not guilty to charges of one count of first degree murder and several counts of child abuse.
PETER GERARD SCULLY – The Philippines
Charged for egregious child sexual abuse, 61-year-old paedophile Peter Scully remains behind bars in a Philippine jail.
Scully was arrested in Malaybalay in 2015 and was given a life sentence for the rape and trafficking of girls in the Philippines as part of his cybersex business.
In 2022, Scully was convicted for a second round of child sexual abuse crimes against victims as young as 18 months old.
He was sentenced to 129 years in jail.
DAMIEN CAREW – France
Melbourne real estate agent Damien Carew was sentenced late this year to 12 months imprisonment in France.
He had been accused of attempting to kill his wife but the charges were downgraded to repeated domestic violence towards a spouse.
Carew is also under investigation for a money-laundering operation after he was found drunk by police on a Paris street with almost €200,000 ($A335,000) in cash in a bag.
JOHN NIKOLIC – Fiji
Former Australian horse trainer John Nikolic is serving his 23-year sentence in Fiji’s Suva Men’s Prison.
In 2018, Nikolic was arrested for attempting to smuggle $30 million worth of cocaine into Fiji on his yacht.
An attempt to appeal his sentence in 2021 was rejected, however, it has been reported that a new legal team continues the fight to reduce one of the longest drug smuggling sentences handed down in Fiji.
SUSAN DALZIEL – Mauritius
Susan Dalziel is serving a 28-year sentence in the African island of Mauritius on account of drug trafficking.
The former teacher was arrested in Nairobi in 2005 for attempting to smuggle $1.4 million worth of heroin in her luggage.
Ms Dalziel will be 80 years old when she is released.
JAKE MASTROIANNI – Thailand
Popular DJ Jake Mastroianni was working in Thailand when he was arrested for possession of ecstasy in 2014.
The Australian man was 26 years old when he was handed down a double life sentence in a Bangkok court.
Mastroianni is seeking to be transferred to an Australian jail.
Englishman Lance Whitmore, who was arrested at the same time, pleaded guilty and received a 50-year sentence.
BRENTON HARRISON TARRANT – New Zealand
The 34-year-old Christchurch mass shooter, Brenton Tarrant, was sentenced to life in prison following the 2019 massacre.
Hailing from New South Wales, Tarrant carried out terror attacks on two mosques, leaving 51 people dead.
He was the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
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Originally published as Australian nationals spending Christmas in overseas jails
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