Thread: Bali Nine

Bali Nine's Renae Lawrence to be released

Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence will be released from prison on November 21.
The 41-year-old will become the first member of the Bali Nine drug trafficking group to be released, more than 12 years after she was put behind bars.

Slamet Prihantoro, the head of Bali provincial correction division, told Fairfax Media that "Renae Lawrence's release date is the 21st of November".
"On that day she will be handed over to immigration for her deportation. As for when she will fly back to Australia, that will be up to immigration. Once we hand her over, she will no longer be our responsibility."
It is likely that Lawrence will be deported on the same day, or the next day, to Australia.
Lawrence was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for her role as a drug mule in 2005 attempting to smuggle more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin to Australia - but that sentence was later reduced to 20 years.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/ba...12-p50fl2.html

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Bali Nine's Renae Lawrence freed after 13 years in prison for drug smuggling



Australian Renae Lawrence has become the first of the infamous Bali Nine to be freed from prison.
Sky News' South East Asia correspondent Siobhan Robbins said that Lawrence, who has served 13 years behind bars for smuggling heroin, has been escorted through a media scrum and into a waiting car.
A police convoy then escorted the vehicle to Denpasar airport, where Lawrence will be held in temporary detention while waiting for the next flight to Sydney.
The 41-year-old has been banned from returning to Indonesia.


https://news.sky.com/story/bali-nine...gling-11559326

Video imbedded.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/austra...early-14-years

She was asked what the slammer was like when she landed in OZ,
She said she was often licked but never beaten.

That pic is BLD, innit?

Indonesia considers repatriating foreign drug convicts; President okays 'Bali Nine' heading home

Indonesia is weighing a “humanitarian” plan to return incarcerated foreign drug convicts to their countries to serve their remaining sentences, with the president initially approving the transfer of the “Bali Nine” heroin traffickers back to Australia.


Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s new president, initiated the plan to send home foreign drug prisoners on a case-by-case basis, a law ministry spokesman told BenarNews.


Human rights advocates praised Indonesia for first agreeing to return death-row Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, and then the remaining members of the “Bali Nine,” named because the nine Australians were arrested while attempting to smuggle more than 16 pounds of heroin out of the Indonesian island in 2005.


However, some criticized Prabowo for agreeing to the Australians’ return saying it undermined the Indonesian justice system, while others hoped the plan was a true attempt at reform.


Ali Nurdin, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said compassion played a central role in the decision to transfer Veloso and the five Australians to their home countries.


“One reason for this policy shift is the humanitarian aspect. The mothers of these inmates are elderly and cannot frequently travel here,” Ali told BenarNews.


He said the ministry was reviewing their return to ensure it complied with regulations.


Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas, however, told reporters on Monday that a mechanism for the transfers was already being worked on.


“It could be ready by December or early next year,” he said.


“But in principle, the president agrees with this and we are preparing it.”


Prabowo’s spokesman and advisers did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews.

Indonesia has some of the world’s harshest drug laws and faces a growing drug abuse problem with an estimated 3.6 million users, according to a 2022 state report.


Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, declared a “drug emergency” and during his two terms oversaw the executions of 18 drug convicts by firing squad, including two “Bali Nine” members.


These executions were carried out despite international criticism and appeals for clemency.


Filipina Veloso was scheduled to be executed with the two “Bali Nine” members in 2015, but her execution was postponed at the last minute after Manila requested that her case be reviewed.


Veloso was convicted for smuggling heroin, but has long claimed she was a victim of human trafficking. Those who trafficked her have also been prosecuted in the Philippines.


No date has been set for Veloso’s return, although Indonesian officials said she must still serve her sentence when back home.


Officials in Manila said Veloso could be back in the Philippines before Christmas.

Some Australian newspapers reported that the remaining “Bali Nine” members could also “be home in time for Christmas.”


Seven “Bali Nine” members were sentenced to life without parole.


One died of cancer in June 2018, while another had her sentence commuted in November of that year.


The remaining five – Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen – are in Indonesian prisons.


Australia’s national broadcaster, ABC reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had lobbied Indonesia’s Prabowo for them to serve the rest of their sentences in Australian prison when the two leaders met at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.


Indonesia’s law minister said the repatriation efforts were “important to maintain our good relations” with other countries.


“[But] foreign national prisoners being transferred to their home countries does not mean they are free,” Supratman, the minister, said on Sunday according to a transcript of his remarks.


[T]hey must complete their prison terms in their respective countries according to Indonesian legal decisions.”

Dinna Prapto Raharja, an international relations scholar, believes Prabowo made a poor decision in agreeing to return the “Bali Nine” members.


Veloso was a victim who deserved an earlier release, but the Bali Nine were convicted of severe drug offenses and should face their punishment, said Dinna, of Synergy Policies, a Jakarta-based think-tank.


“It’s not a good precedent for us. This is not the president’s domain,” she told BenarNews.


“The president can grant clemency, but sending the Bali Nine back to Australia without going through proper legal procedures is wrong.”

Some in Australia agreed with Dinna, as reactions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) showed.


X user @tom_mende wrote: “There is no humanitarian case. They wanted to spread their poison for personal profit devoid of any morality or humanity. No second chances.”


“The Bali nine are criminals: do the crime, do the time,” wrote another X user, @TafPomScotiPole.


Usman Hamid, executive director of human rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, hopes Prabowo’s proposal is not merely opportunistic and instead involves a genuine reform of the country’s harsh drug policies.


“This should be the start of a consistent human rights-based approach to drug cases, regardless of whether they involve foreigners or citizens,” he told BenarNews.


“[But] the question remains whether this …is merely an ad hoc decision influenced by political interests and diplomatic pressures.”

Access Denied

It sounds like a few dim fucking people need Prisoner Transfer Agreements explaining to them. It is not an early release.

Remaining Bali Nine members return to Australia after 20 years in Indonesian prison

The remaining five members of the Bali Nine have returned to Australia after spending two decades in an Indonesian prison for their roles in a botched drug smuggling operation.Australians Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj were serving life sentences in Indonesia for their roles in the 2005 smuggling plot.
The two ringleaders of the plot, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015; Renae Lawrence's 20-year sentence was commuted in 2018 and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of stomach cancer in that same year.
The men arrived in Australia earlier today and have been provided temporary accommodation while they resettle.
But the ABC has been told the men are effectively free to live unhindered in Australian society.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed in a statement with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke that the men had returned.
"We would like to convey our deep appreciation to the Government of Indonesia for its cooperation to facilitate the men's return to Australia on humanitarian grounds," the ministers said in a statement.
"This reflects the strong bilateral relationship and mutual respect between Indonesia and Australia.

"The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia."
The men are understood to have returned together on a commercial flight, but it is not known whether they have been reunited with their families, or where they are staying.
The men and their families have asked for privacy in a happy but also difficult time.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of APEC in Lima, Peru, last month when the pair discussed the return of the remaining Bali Nine members.
But the result is the consequence of years of prolonged advocacy by Australia from the prime minister down.
Mr Subianto said he wanted to see the men home before Christmas, noting the lengthy sentences they had already served and their ageing families

https://www.xxx.xxx.xx/news/2024-12-...m_content=link

Great news.

Home free.

Bali Nine: Australians jailed in Indonesia '''relieved''' to be home

Great to see.