Yusril: Transfer Of Bali Nine Now Depends On The Australian Government

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction Yusril Ihza Mahendra/ANTARA

JAKARTA - Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Correction Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the transfer of Bali Nine prisoners now depends on whether or not the Australian Government agrees with the conditions proposed by the Government of Indonesia.

The Indonesian government has submitted a draft of cooperation containing the conditions for transferring prisoners to the Australian Government. Yusril handed over the draft when he received Australian Interior Minister Tony Burke at his office, Jakarta, Tuesday.

"The ball is in their hands now, we are just waiting," said Yusril when met after the bilateral meeting, reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, December 4.

According to Yusril, the Australian Government still needs time to study the draft. The exact date for the transfer of Bali Nine prisoners, he said, was very dependent on the agreement on the draft submitted to the Australian Government.

"I said (to Tony) if this was agreed as quickly as possible, we could make a transfer this December. So, now the ball is not in our hands anymore, the ball is in the hands of the Australian government," said Yusril.

During a joint press conference after a bilateral meeting with Tony, Yusril explained that the draft submitted contained points of requirements proposed by the Government of Indonesia in the transfer of prisoners.

These points include the Australian government having to recognize Indonesia's sovereignty and respect the Indonesian court's decision.

Then, Indonesia will move the Bali Nine as prisoners. However, if the Australian Government will grant clemency, amnesty, and remission to prisoners after being transferred, then Indonesia will respect it.

Indonesia also asked to continue to have access to monitor prisoners after being returned to their home country. This cooperation in transferring prisoners is expected to be resipprocal.

Not only that, Indonesia also emphasized that people who were involved in narcotics cases were banned for life so that they could not enter the territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.

"We hope to resolve this as soon as possible," said Yusril.

The transfer of Bali Nine prisoners to their home country is a request from the Australian Government. Yusril admitted that the Australian and Indonesian governments do not yet have regulations regarding the transfer of prisoners, but the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto took discretion on the basis of good intentions.

Bali Nine is the nickname for nine Australian inmates who were arrested in Bali for being involved in a drug syndicate case in 2005. They were proven to have smuggled 8.2 kilograms of heroin.

The nine inmates include Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumarian, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Reane Lawrance, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, and Martin Stephens.

There are still five Bali Nine inmates in Indonesia, namely Si Yi, Michael, Matthew, Scott, and Martin. Meanwhile, Andrew and Myuran were executed in 2015, Renae was released in 2018, while Tan Duc died in 2018 in prison while serving life imprisonment.