Indonesia considers repatriating foreign drug convicts; President okays ‘Bali Nine’ heading home

Indonesia is weighing a “humanitarian” plan to return incarcerated foreign drug convicts to their countries to serve their remaining sentences, with the president initially approving the transfer of  the “Bali Nine” heroin traffickers back to Australia.

Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s new president, initiated the plan to send home foreign drug prisoners on a case-by-case basis, a law ministry spokesman told BenarNews.

Human rights advocates praised Indonesia for first agreeing to return death-row Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, and then the remaining members of the “Bali Nine,” named because the nine Australians were arrested while attempting to smuggle more than 16 pounds of heroin out of the Indonesian island in 2005.

However, some criticized Prabowo for agreeing to the Australians’ return saying it undermined the Indonesian justice system, while others hoped the plan was a true attempt at reform. 

Ali Nurdin, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said compassion played a central role in the decision to transfer Veloso and the five Australians to their home countries.

“One reason for this policy shift is the humanitarian aspect. The mothers of these inmates are elderly and cannot frequently travel here,” Ali told BenarNews.

He said the ministry was reviewing their return to ensure it complied with regulations.

Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas, however, told reporters on Monday that a mechanism for the transfers was already being worked on. 

“It could be ready by December or early next year,” he said. 

“But in principle, the president agrees with this and we are preparing it.”

Prabowo’s spokesman and advisers did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BenarNews.

Indonesia has  some of the world’s harshest drug laws and faces a growing drug abuse problem with an estimated 3.6 million users, according to a 2022 state report.

Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, declared a “drug emergency” and during his two terms oversaw the executions of 18 drug convicts by firing squad, including two “Bali Nine” members.

These executions were carried out despite international criticism and appeals for clemency.

Filipina Veloso was scheduled to be executed with the two “Bali Nine” members in 2015, but her execution was postponed at the last minute after Manila requested that her case be reviewed. 

Veloso was convicted for smuggling heroin, but  has long claimed she was a victim of human trafficking. Those who trafficked her have also been prosecuted in the Philippines.

No date has been set for Veloso’s return, although Indonesian officials said she must still serve her sentence when back home.

Officials in Manila said Veloso could be back in the Philippines before Christmas. 

Some Australian newspapers reported that the remaining “Bali Nine” members could also “be home in time for Christmas.”

Seven “Bali Nine” members were sentenced to life without parole. 

One died of cancer in June 2018, while another had her sentence commuted in November of that year. 

The remaining five – Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen – are in Indonesian prisons. 

Australia’s national broadcaster ABC reported that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had lobbied Indonesia’s Prabowo for them to serve the rest of their sentences in Australian prison when the two leaders met at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru.

Indonesia’s law minister said the repatriation efforts were “important to maintain our good relations” with other countries. 

“[But] foreign national prisoners being transferred to their home countries does not mean they are free,” Supratman, the minister, said on Sunday according to a transcript of his remarks.

[T]hey must complete their prison terms in their respective countries according to Indonesian legal decisions.”

Dinna Prapto Raharja, an international relations scholar, believes Prabowo made a poor decision in agreeing to return the “Bali Nine” members.

Veloso was a victim who deserved an earlier release, but the Bali Nine were convicted of severe drug offenses and should face their punishment, said Dinna, of Synergy Policies, a Jakarta-based think-tank.  

“It’s not a good precedent for us. This is not the president’s domain,” she told BenarNews.

“The president can grant clemency, but sending the Bali Nine back to Australia without going through proper legal procedures is wrong.”

Some in Australia agreed with Dinna, as reactions on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) showed.

X user @tom_mende wrote: “There is no humanitarian case. They wanted to spread their poison for personal profit devoid of any morality or humanity. No second chances.” 

“The Bali nine are criminals: do the crime, do the time,” wrote another X user, @TafPomScotiPole.

Usman Hamid, executive director of human rights group Amnesty International Indonesia, hopes Prabowo’s proposal is not merely opportunistic and instead involves a genuine reform of the country’s harsh drug policies. 

“This should be the start of a consistent human rights-based approach to drug cases, regardless of whether they involve foreigners or citizens,” he told BenarNews.

“[But] the question remains whether this … is merely an ad hoc decision influenced by political interests and diplomatic pressures.”