The five remaining members of the infamous “Bali Nine” drug ring have returned home after serving nearly 20 years in Indonesian prisons.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the return of Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj in a statement on Sunday. He said he was “pleased to confirm” they “have returned to Australia.”
He thanked Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto “for his compassion”.
The high-profile case began in 2005 when Indonesia caught nine young Australians trying to smuggle 8.3kg (18lb) of heroin out of Bali strapped to their bodies.
The eight men and one woman were arrested at an airport and hotel in Bali after a tip-off from Australian police.
The case made news worldwide when two of the gang’s ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad in 2015 – sparking a diplomatic row between neighbours Indonesia and Australia.
After the executions, Australia recalled its ambassador to Indonesia, although he returned to Jakarta five weeks later.
Other members of the Bali Nine were handed either 20 years or life terms in prison.
The case put a spotlight on Indonesia’s strict drug laws, some of the most stringent in the world.
One of the nine, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died of cancer in prison in 2018. Shortly afterwards, Renae Lawrence, then 41, the only woman among the group, had her sentence commuted after spending almost 13 years in prison and returned to Australia the same year.
With no media present, the five took a flight on Sunday from Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport to Darwin, in northern Australia, on the Australian airline Jetstar, Indonesia’s senior law minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told The Associated Press.
Mahendra said they were moved as “prisoners,” and “once repatriated,” they came under the jurisdiction of the Australian government. The Indonesian president had not granted them a pardon.
“The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia,” Australia’s government said.
It expressed “deep appreciation” to Indonesia for allowing them to return home on humanitarian grounds.
Australian broadcaster ABC has reported that the men are effectively free to live unhindered in Australian society.
The Albanese government previously negotiated the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from Britain, journalist Cheng Lei from China, and economist Sean Turnell from a Myanmar jail.
Albanese acknowledged that the men had committed grave crimes, but said it was time for them to return home after serving 19 years in Indonesian jails.
