Indonesia releases five last Australians of the Bali Nine drug gang
Indonesia releases five last Australians of the Bali Nine drug gang
The remaining five Australians from the notorious Heroin-Schmuggler gang of the " Bali nine "have returned to Australia, After Canberra has made an agreement with Indonesia to end her almost two decades of detention abroad.
Return of the prisoners and political negotiations
"I am pleased to be able to confirm that the Australian citizens Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens this afternoon to Australia returned," The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday on X. The five belonged to a larger group of nine people who had tried in 2005 to smuggle over 8 kilograms of heroin from Bali International Airport to Australia.
history of the Bali nine
The failed plan has long been a point of dispute between the two countries, whereby the Australian government has campaigned for the return of the prisoners for decades. In 2015, the two Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed in Indonesia, which prompted Prime Minister Tony Abbott to describe this as a "dark moment in the relationship".
latest developments
Last month, Albanese brought the case of men to the newly sworn Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto as part of the APEC summit in Peru, as Reuters reported. At this point, the Indonesian Minister of Justice confirmed that they had agreed to return the remaining men. "I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his sympathy," Albanese wrote on Sunday on X.The five men are now set to their release, as Nine News reported. In a separate joint explanation with Albanese and Interior Minister Tony Burke, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: "The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia."
the arrest of the Bali nine
The Bali Nine was arrested by the Indonesian police in 2005 after Australian authorities had given an indication. Four of them were arrested on the body at Denpasar International Airport with over 8 kilograms of heroin, while another four were found in a hotel on the island of Kuta. Chan, one of the ringleaders, was caught after climbing an airplane to Sydney.
strict drug determinations in Indonesia
Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death, while the other seven received a lifelong prison sentence after an appeal. The only female member of the group, Renae Lawrence, 20-year-old prison sentence. Lawrence was originally sentenced to life imprisonment, but her judgment was alleviated for 20 years, and it was released prematurely due to good leadership.
Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died of kidney cancer during his detention in 2018, Nine News reported. The case of the Bali Nine illustrated the strict laws against drug trafficking in Indonesia, where several foreigners are currently imprisoned for similar charges.
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