The Bali Nine saga, which has captivated Australia for nearly two decades, might be on the verge of a new chapter. In fact, it looks like the remaining members of this notorious group could soon be heading back to Australia.
Let’s break down what’s happening with the Bali Nine right now.
Who are the Bali Nine?
The Bali nine are a group of nine young Aussies who were arrested in Bali on April 2005 for attempting to smuggle over eight kilograms of heroin in Australia.
Currently, five members are still behind bars in Indonesia, serving life sentences: Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens, and Michael Czugaj.
The two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad in 2015, causing diplomatic tensions between Australia and Indonesia. Another member Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer in prison in 2018, while Renae Lawrence, the only woman in the group, was released and returned to Australia in 2018.
What’s happening with the Bali Nine now?
Recently, there’s been some significant movement regarding the fate of these remaining members. Indonesia’s law minister, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, announced at a press conference on December 3 that they’ve handed over a draft proposal for their transfer to Australia.
This comes after discussions between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesia’s new President Prabowo Subianto during the APEC Summit. It seems like there’s a real push to get things moving.
The Indonesian government hopes that the matter could be finalised by December. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke met with Mahendra in Jakarta to discuss the proposal, describing it as “a significant step forward and shows significant goodwill”.
“I hope that we can find an understanding on that, agreed on the draft. And we hope that we can finalise these matters in December,” Mahendra said after the meeting.
What’s the catch?
While this news is encouraging, there are still some hurdles to clear. For starters, Australia and Indonesia don’t have a formal prisoner exchange agreement in place. This lack of an existing framework means that both countries need to work out the legal intricacies of such a transfer, which could take a long time and isn’t guaranteed to work.
Indonesia has also indicated that they would prefer the Bali Nine to continue serving their life sentences once they return home. However they know that Australia granting clemency isn’t out of the question entirely.
“We are transferring them to their countries so they can serve their sentence there, but if the countries want to give amnesty, we respect it. It’s their right,” Mahendra said, per The Guardian.
In November, Special Minister of State Don Farrell said on Sky News that the prisoners would likely not be released.
“They would continue to serve their sentence, except they’re serving them in Australia,” Farrell said.
This still raises questions about how the sentences would be enforced in Australia and what legal mechanisms would be needed, if Australia wants to comply with Indonesian court rulings.
There are also whispers that Indonesia might want to negotiate the repatriation of its own prisoners held in Australia as part of any deal. However, this point has been disputed by some Australian officials.
When will the Bali Nine be coming home?
The timeline for the Bali Nine’s potential return remains uncertain. Burke acknowledged that there are some things that need to be resolved in the draft, but it seems like things are moving in the right direction.
“We now need to work through the issues within each country and we’ll be doing that without delay,” he said.
“The Indonesian government is very serious about this,” Yusril said. “Mr Prabowo really wants it to be as soon as possible.”
For now we’ll just have to wait and see!
Lead image: Getty Images
The post After Nearly 2 Decades, Bali Nine Members May Finally Return To Australia, Here’s What’s Going On appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
