JAKARTA, Indonesia — In a significant diplomatic development, Indonesia has agreed to repatriate the five remaining members of the notorious Bali Nine drug smuggling ring who are serving life sentences in the Southeast Asian country, an Indonesian government minister announced on Saturday.
The decision, revealed by Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas, also includes Indonesia seeking the return of its own citizens imprisoned in Australia, further highlighting the fluid state of prisoner exchanges between the two nations.
“This is the president’s discretion, but in principle, the president has agreed on humanitarian grounds,” Supratman told Reuters, adding that the counterpart country must recognize Indonesia’s judicial process.
The breakthrough comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised the prisoner issue with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru, according to Australian Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.
The Bali Nine case has long cast a shadow over the diplomatic relationship between Australia and Indonesia, with the 2015 execution of two of the group’s ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, causing a significant rupture that saw Australia recall its ambassador in protest.
The development is also notable in the context of Indonesia’s decision earlier this week to allow Mary Jane Veloso, a Philippine woman on death row for drug trafficking, to serve the rest of her sentence in her home country. Veloso was the lone survivor among a group of condemned convicts who were set to be executed by firing squad in 2015, after Philippine officials requested Indonesia allow her to testify against members of a human- and drug-smuggling ring.
While Indonesia has no set procedures for international prisoner transfers, Supratman said the country would work to facilitate the process as soon as possible, emphasizing the importance of maintaining good relations with “friendly countries” while also addressing the issue of Indonesians imprisoned abroad.
The Bali Nine case has long been a source of contention, with the group’s arrest in 2005 for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian resort island sparking widespread condemnation and debate over the country’s strict drug laws. With the remaining members now set to be returned to Australia, the saga appears to be nearing a resolution, though the diplomatic scars may linger.
