Norman, Czugaj, Rush, Stephens and Chen were arrested along with four others in 2005 for trying to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia. The so-called ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015, and Renae Lawrence was released in 2018. Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer in 2018.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the five men had returned to Australia on Sunday afternoon under an agreement with Indonesia that reflected a strong relationship between the two countries.
Their return is a coup for the Albanese government, which has already secured the release of economist Sean Turnell from a jail in Myanmar, journalist Cheng Lei from China, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from Britain.
Albanese said the men had committed serious offences but, after 19 years in Indonesian prisons, it was time for them to come home.
“I want to express my gratitude to President Prabowo for Indonesia’s co-operation and commitment to working with Australia on this matter. I have conveyed my personal appreciation to President Prabowo for his act of compassion,” Albanese said in a statement.
“Australia respects Indonesia’s sovereignty and legal processes, and we appreciate Indonesia’s compassionate consideration of this matter.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto held talks in Peru during the APEC summit.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Australia shares Indonesia’s concern about the serious problem illicit drugs represent. The government will continue to co-operate with Indonesia to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime.”
Albanese said the men would have the opportunity to “continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration here in Australia”.
“We ask that the media respect the privacy of the men and their families at this time,” he said.
Australian ministers said little about the men’s pending release after news broke in November that the federal government was negotiating for them to be returned to Australia by Christmas. Albanese had directly raised their cases with Prabowo on the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Peru earlier that month.
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The prime minister had also privately lobbied Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, to secure the men’s freedom.
While Widodo was in power, officials had been advocating for the men’s prison sentences in Indonesia to be reduced. That approach changed when Prabowo was elected in March because he was willing to transfer the men to Australia.
Since Australia does not have a prisoner transfer agreement with Indonesia, there was no legal mechanism for the men to serve jail time once back in the country. Instead, Indonesia sought assurance the men would continue their rehabilitation in Australia, which they agreed to.
Officials described a collaborative process that led to an agreement signed by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and Indonesian Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
Yusril had previously said his government would respect Australia’s decision to grant the men freedom once they arrived home, but they would never be able to set foot in Indonesia again.
“If Australia wants to give remission or pardon, it is entirely up to the Australian government,” he said late last month. “We will respect it. If transferred and they are in prison, then a week later the government release them, we will respect it.”
Professor Tim Lindsey, the director of the centre of Indonesian law at the University of Melbourne, has been closely involved in attempts over the years to see the five drug convicts released. He said Sunday’s announcement reflected “promising developments in the bilateral relationship” between Australia and Indonesia.
“It’s encouraging, particularly since it happened so early and so quickly, when it had been a locked-in problem for years and years, and [former president] Joko Widodo was unwilling to negotiate,” Lindsey said.
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He said the releases were in line with Prabowo’s lobbying on behalf of Indonesian maids on death row in Malaysia, who also had been convicted of serious crimes.
Lindsey said the releases also reflected a shift in attitudes towards drug offences in Indonesia. Widodo had adopted a “war on drugs” which had led to harsh sentences and serious prison overcrowding.
“Many prisons are filled many times over their rated capacity, which has led to some serious problems. Letting out five Australians won’t make any difference to that, but there has been a growing interest in rehabilitation, and a rethink about Indonesia’s harsh drugs policies.
“It’s an opportunity with a new president for a reset on these things,” Lindsey said.
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