JAKARTA, Nov 25 — Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas is reviewing the transfer of five Australian drug smugglers from the Bali Nine group to their home country, reported ANTARA News Agency.
The review of the transfer is being carried out along with Politics, Law, Immigration, and Corrections Coordinating Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra and related stakeholders.
"The results of the study will be consulted with President Prabowo Subianto to generate the best decision," Agtas noted in a statement confirmed today.
The five prisoners in the Bali Nine group are Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, and Martin Stephens.
In principle, he said President Prabowo Subianto has approved the transfer of five foreign prisoners to their home country on humanitarian grounds and to maintain good relations with other countries.
However, Indonesia does not have a fixed procedure regarding the transfer of international prisoners, but they will carry out the process at the earliest.
"This effort is important to maintain our good relations with other countries. However, we must also ensure that they respect the legal process in Indonesia," Agtas said.
He added that the country of origin of the foreign prisoners must recognise the Indonesian court's decision, as Indonesia has the authority to try foreign nationals who commit crimes in its territory.
Hence, foreign national prisoners transferred to their home country must complete their prison terms in their respective countries according to Indonesian legal decisions.
Apart from returning foreign prisoners, Agtas said that Indonesia is striving to repatriate Indonesian prisoners being held abroad.
To date, the Law Ministry has received letters from ambassadors of several countries regarding the transfer of foreign prisoners to their home countries.
The minster said that he would deliver the letters of request to President Prabowo.
The Bali Nine is the nickname for nine prisoners from Australia who were arrested in Bali for their involvement in a drug syndicate case in 2005.
The nine convicts were proven to have smuggled 8.2kg of heroin from Indonesia to Australia. The nine convicts are Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrance, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, and Martin Stephens.
Chan and Sukumaran were executed in 2015, while Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years in prison and was released in 2018 after receiving several remissions. Thanh Nguyen died of natural causes in custody while serving a life sentence in 2018.
The remaining five inmates are still serving life sentences in Indonesia.
— Bernama
