Five ‘Bali Nine’ ring members return to Australia after 19 years in prison

Diplomatic efforts have resolved a saga that strained relations between the two countries.

Five members of the Australian “Bali Nine” drug ring have returned from Indonesia after 19 years in jail following diplomatic efforts between the two countries this month to strike a repatriation deal.

The men, who flew home on Sunday, were among nine people arrested in 2005 trying to smuggle more than 8kg of heroin out of the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015, prompting Australia to recall its ambassador in protest. The only woman in the group was released from prison in 2018, and a male member died of cancer the same year.

“The Australian Government can confirm that Australian citizens, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj have returned to Australia,” Canberra said in a statement.

“The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the men returned in the afternoon. He thanked Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for his “compassion”.

“Australia shares Indonesia’s concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represent,” Albanese said.

“The government will continue to cooperate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime,” he told reporters.

The Australian government did not give further details on the agreement with Jakarta. Negotiations over the repatriation of the men, an issue which had strained relations between the two countries, reportedly picked up after Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto met Albanese on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru last month.

Indonesia’s Senior Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra this month met Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Jakarta and handed over a draft proposal for the return of the five prisoners.

The terms of the draft included the five being banned from returning to Indonesia, regulations on the legal basis for the transfer and a requirement that Australia respect the decision of the Indonesian court, Yusril said.

Yusril said at the time that Indonesia would respect any decision taken by Australia when the prisoners returned home, including if the group was granted a pardon.

Australia’s national broadcaster ABC said the men were now free, and would not have to serve further prison time at home.

Arrests of foreigners for drug offences are not uncommon in Bali, a popular destination that draws millions of visitors to its palm-fringed beaches each year.

Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country, enforces some of the world’s strictest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers.

Australian police came under criticism after the Bali Nine’s arrests for alerting Indonesian authorities to the drug-smuggling ring despite the death penalty risk.

In November, a senior Indonesian minister said Jakarta aimed to return prisoners from Australia, France and the Philippines by the end of this year.

France last month requested the return of citizen Serge Atlaoui, a welder arrested in 2005 in a drugs factory outside Jakarta, according to the minister.

Earlier this month, Indonesia signed an agreement with the Philippines for the return of a mother of two, Mary Jane Veloso, who was arrested in 2010 after the suitcase she was carrying was found to be lined with 2.6kg of heroin.