The Republic of Indonesia has quickly endorsed and accepted a Presidential principle agreement to return the five remaining members of the notorious “Bali Nine” to Australia, effectively truncating the five’s life sentence now being served in an Indonesian prison.
On Saturday, 23 November 2024, Indonesian Minister of Law, Supratman Andi Agtas, confirmed the commutation of the five Australian life sentences, stipulating that the Australian convicts would be transferred to Australian prisons to serve indeterminate sentences. The exact period to be served by the five remains under review but is anticipated to be less than the life sentence without parole they are serving in Indonesia.
The Indonesian-Australian bilateral agreement also provides for a prisoner exchange for Indonesians now being held in Australian prisons.
In the weeks leading up to the decision to repatriate the five Australian men, Indonesia also confirmed that Mary Jane Veloso, a Philippine woman awaiting execution for smuggling narcotics, will now serve a sentence in a Philippine prison. Veloso received an 11th-hour stay of execution in 2015 after agreeing to turn State’s Witness against a drug and human smuggling ring.
The repatriation back to Australia of the remaining five of the original “Bali Nine” was precipitated by a sideline meeting between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC Conference in Lima, Peru.
Commenting on the imminent departure of the five Australians for Australian prisons, and quoted by The Jakarta Post, Supratman said: “This is the president’s discretion, but in principle, the President has agreed on humanitarian grounds.”
Details on the unique transfer agreement are still being finalized between Australian and Indonesian authorities. Supratman insists that Australia must fundamentally recognize the Indonesian judicial process. Adding: “This is important to maintain a good relationship with friendly countries. But this is also in our interest because we have prisoners abroad.”
Supratman told the press that France has also requested the repatriation of a French national serving time in an Indonesian prison.
Possible Delays Ahead?
Among the legal impediments that could complicate or delay the return of the “Bali Five” and the Philipina prisoner. Because the repatriation process cum prisoner exchange is an unprecedented legal procedure in Indonesia, a range of legal protocols need first to be sorted out before the prisoners are handed back to their respective governments.
First and foremost, Indonesia insists that Australia and the Philippines must recognize and respect the Indonesian judicial process. Meanwhile, an Indonesian International Law Expert, Hikmahanto Juwana, urges caution in the coming repatriation without a formal law covering how such a repatriation/prisoner exchange would occur.
“Proceeding with the transfer without a clear legal basis will tear our existing laws to shreds. Previous administrations have always reasoned that prisoner transfers are impossible since no specific law exists. Still, the new administration seems to disregard this fact entirely,” Hikmahanto told The Jakarta Post.
International relations expert Ahmad Rizky M. Umar sounded a similar warning: “If the prisoner transfer is part of a bigger agenda, it’s something that needs to be communicated clearly, and the transfer scheme itself must have a clear legal basis.”
Delays in repatriation/exchange could also be fueled by parties sympathetic to the transfer. The Executive Director of Amnesty International, Usman Hamid, is seeking legal clarity, saying any protocols should also reevaluate Indonesia’s stance on capital punishment and look beyond the current transactional deal. “It’s time for Indonesia to fall in line with international standards when it comes to [how it treats prisoners], including by abolishing the death penalty, or to at least call a moratorium on it,” Usman said.
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