The five Bali Nine members remaining in jail could be back home in Australia by December, following “consistent advocacy” from the Albanese government.
The group, most of whom were teenagers when arrested, catapulted to infamy when they were caught attempting to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005.
Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have been behind bars since but a private conversation between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto may have secured their release.
The two leaders spoke on the sidelines at the G20 Summit this week and it’s understood a deal was struck to bring the five members home.
“I can confirm the Albanese government has been consistently advocating for the cases of the Bali Nine and this included conversations with former president Widodo and President Prabowo,” Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said.
Sydney friends Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were identified as the ringleaders of the group and were transferred onto the infamous prison Island of Nusa Kambangan.
“When you’re young you just think you’re invincible,” Chan said after their jailing.
“Sometimes it’s very hard to see how things were and how things got to this point and just a few wrong turns and it so dramatically leads you to a different path,” Sukumaran said.
They were executed by firing squad in 2015 after multiple appeals to save their lives were rejected.
“I asked the president to please show mercy, show mercy please. Don’t let my mum and sister bury my brother,” Sukumaran’s brother, Chintu, said.
Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died in prison from stomach cancer in 2018.
That same year, Renae Lawrence had her sentence commuted and returned home to Australia.
She left behind the five remaining members.
It’s understood the federal government is waiting for the Indonesian government to make an official announcement before confirming details of the agreement.
If all goes to plan, the remaining members of the Bali Nine could be back on home soil as early as next month.
