AAP
They arrived back in Australia on a freedom flight but had to wait another agonising week before they were reunited with the families they left behind, just in time for Christmas.
And while their prison sentences have ended, experts agree the five freed Bali Nine’s “second chance” at a normal life will be anything but easy.
TOP-SECRET OPERATION
All of the men undoubtedly carry mental and physical scars from their 19 years in Indonesian prisons.
“They’re coming home, but they’re coming home to a home they don’t know,” says Townsville Bishop Timothy Harris, who provided pastoral care to both Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj in prison. “This has been an extraordinary time, not only for them, but particularly for their families. They are going to have to adapt too.”
The five men – Matthew Norman, 38, Martin Stephens, 48, Si Yi Chen, 39, Scott, 39 and Michael, 38 – looked sombre and stunned when they landed in Darwin after a top-secret government operation to secure their freedom.
They were “relieved and happy” to finally be home, even though the long-awaited reunion with their families was delayed while they received medical treatment and also trauma counselling.
They did, however, say they and their families will be “forever grateful” in a joint statement issued by their lawyers.
TIME & SUPPORT
“They look forward, in time, to reintegrating back into and contributing to society. The welfare of the men is a priority, they will need time and support,” the statement said. The men spent their first night of freedom in a short-term accommodation facility in a former Covid quarantine camp at Howard Springs in the NT.
Scott’s father Lee last week refused all requests for interviews but tied a yellow ribbon around his letterbox, which is a traditional sign to welcome home returning soldiers and freed prisoners. Bishop Harris says they are “elated” to have their son back.
The convicted drug smugglers’ freedom came after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appealed to the new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the APEC summit last month, and he agreed to let them come home on humanitarian grounds.
For two of the freed men, their new liberty came with a harsh price. Martin and Matthew were forced to leave their wives and stepchildren behind, and just like the other freed men, they are banned from ever re-entering Indonesia.
REDEMPTION
Bayside Church pastor Christie Buckingham, who was with Myuran Sukumaran minutes before he was executed in 2015, says freedom gives them a chance at redemption.
“It’s a moment that represents a second chance, an opportunity for these men to reintegrate into society [and] contribute meaningfully,” she says.
The Bali Nine were convicted after attempting to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin from Indonesia to Australia in 2005. They ranged in age from 18 to 28, with three members under 20. In 2020, the only freed member of the group, Renae Lawrence, issued an emotional plea for the remaining prisoners to be allowed to return to their home in Australia.
“We acknowledge that we did the wrong thing,” she said in a statement in both English and Bahasa. “We continue to apologise to the Indonesian Government and the citizens of Indonesia for our stupidity.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS?
TAN DUC THANH NGUYEN
Originally given a life sentence, this was overturned and he was sentenced to death before dying of cancer in 2018.
ANDREW CHAN
One of the ringleaders, he became a Christian minister behind bars before his execution by firing squad aged 31 in 2015.
MYURAN SUKUMARAN
The other ringleader taught art classes to fellow prisoners before his execution aged 34 in 2015
RENAE LAWRENCE
The only female member of the Bali Nine, she’s kept a low profile since returning to Australia aged 41 in 2018.
