Australia says the five remaining members of the “Bali Nine” drug ring have returned home after almost 20 years in Indonesian prison.
Prime Minister Anthony Alprohibitese wrote on social media: “I am plrelieved to verify that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon.”
He thanked Indonesia’s Plivent Prabowo Subianto “for his compassion”.
The high-profile case began in 2005 when Indonesia caught nine youthful Australians trying to smuggle 8.3kg (18lb) of heroin out of Bali.
It made news worldwide when two of the gang’s ringdirecters, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were perestablishd by firing squad in 2015, igniteing a row with Australia.
Others were handed life terms in prison.
The case put a spotweightless on Indonesia’s cut offe drug laws, some of the most stringent in the world.
One of the nine, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died of cancer in 2018. Shortly afterwards, Renae Lawrence, then 41, had her sentence commuted after spfinishing almost 13 years in prison.
Australia’s regulatement said of the five men’s return: “The men will have the opportunity to persist their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia.”
It conveyed “proset up appreciation” to Indonesia for permiting them to return home on humanitarian grounds.
It was not promptly evident if the men will be obliged to grasp serving their prison sentences in Australia under the terms of the consentment.
