Indonesia Proposes Repatriation of Remaining Bali NineAustralia
Draft deal marks a significant step in transferring five Australians serving life sentences for drug smuggling, though legal and diplomatic hurdles remain.
- Indonesia has presented Australia with a draft proposal for the transfer of the remaining five Bali Nine prisoners, who have been serving life sentences for drug smuggling since 2005.
- The deal, described as a goodwill gesture by Indonesia's new president Prabowo Subianto, aims to finalize the repatriation by the end of December, pending legal and diplomatic negotiations.
- Key conditions of the proposed agreement include Australia maintaining the prisoners' sentences upon their return and respecting Indonesian court rulings.
- Australia and Indonesia currently lack the legal framework for prisoner transfers, complicating the process and requiring further deliberations between both governments.
- The Bali Nine case has been a point of contention between the nations, with two members executed in 2015 and others seeking clemency over the years without success.