A tourist who was jailed for attacking several people while drunk and naked during a holiday in Indonesia will be deported back to Australia, officials have confirmed.
Bodhi Risby-Jones, 23, was detained in April on Simeulue Island, a surf resort in the deeply conservative Muslim province of Aceh, over accusations that he’d been on a drunken rampage that left a fisherman with serious injuries.
The Australian walked free after going through a restorative justice process to avoid going to court, where a charge of assault could have potentially landed him in prison for up to five years, according to the head of the immigration office in the region. This process included apologising for the attack and paying compensation to the fisherman’s family.
Last month, ABC News reported that the settlement was 250 million rupiah (£13,460), plus hospital fees. The victim underwent surgery for broken bones and a serious infection in his legs.
Footage of his release on Tuesday showed Mr Risby-Jones wearing a dark blue T-shirt and detainee’s red vest as he was seen hugging and saying goodbye to several prison wardens before being escorted to a bus by officers.
“It’s been a long time coming and I’m feeling amazing, and super happy and grateful,” he said. "Everyone has been very nice and accommodated me well, thank you.”
Mr Risby-Jones will stay at an immigration detention facility until his documents and plane tickets are ready.
Violent acts by foreigners are very rare in Aceh, the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that practices Shariah law, a concession made by the central government in 2001 as part of efforts to end a decades-long war for independence. Mr Risby-Jones is the first foreigner to successfully resolve a case through restorative justice in the province.
Indonesia has been working hard to clamp down on problem visitors. In April, a Russian woman who posed nude for photos in front of a sacred tree in Bali was sent home. In the same month, an Australian was deported after a video of her arguing with police went viral on social media.
Additional reporting by Associated Press.
