Bali Nine prisoner 'cries tears of joy' after news of possible return to ...
One of the Bali Nine prisoners — whose return to Australia is under consideration from the Indonesian government — has cried tears of joy at the prospect of finally coming home, according to a prison doctor.
Agung Hartawan, the prison doctor at Bali's Kerobokan jail, says he spoke to Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen on Saturday after news of the potential deal with Jakarta broke.
Dr Hartawan said that Matthew Norman told him he had cried tears of joy about the possibility of soon returning home but was trying to remain calm as details of the deal remain scant.
"[Matthew] said that he felt too happy and it made him cry," Dr Hartawan said of Norman's reaction to the news, almost 20 years after the Bali Nine was first arrested in Indonesia.
"Matt is trying to keep calm as he understands that there are not yet any letters that show they could really go back to Australia," he said.
"They feel hopeful but anxious."
Two of the Bali Nine members are being held in Bali's notorious Kerobokan prison. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Dr Hartawan said that Si Yi Chen appeared relaxed and had shared that he didn't want to think too much about it, for now.
"Si Yi is still hoping it will really happen. But he chose to be calm," he said.
Dr Hartawan said both men were cautious in their response, given that they had received no details from officials.
Norman's happy tears came after news broke late on Friday that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had reached a deal for the Bali Nine's return, on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru earlier in the week.
Details of exactly how the deal would work are still being ironed out and the Australian government is remaining tight-lipped on the matter.
On Sunday, trade minister Don Farrell said discussions were "ongoing".
"The proposal isn't, as I understand it, to release these people. They would continue to serve their sentence, except they're serving them in Australia," Mr Farrell said.
Indonesian officials have suggested the five Bali Nine members would return home and remain in Australian jails for a period, pending release.
But this remains unclear and some Indonesian officials are describing it as a "transfer of prisoners".
Bali Nine members Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens, and Michael Czugaj appear set to be moved to Australia. (Reuters)
Indonesia's Law and Human Rights Minister Supratman Andi Agtas says the president's decision to allow the Bali Nine to return home is based on humanitarian grounds.
It follows a decision to also allow a prisoner from the Philippines — on death row in Indonesia — to return home to her country.
The Bali Nine group was arrested in April 2005 and have spent almost 20 years behind bars in Bali and Java.
The five members of the group, who remain in Indonesia, are serving life sentences under a system where their only chance of release is clemency from the president or a pardon.
Mr Supratman said that while Indonesia had no set procedures regarding international prisoner transfers, the matter would be worked out as soon as possible.
He said the new deal was in his country's interest because Indonesia had prisoners abroad.
It is not clear whether Indonesia would be seeking — under the deal — for Indonesians imprisoned in Australia to be considered for a return home.
Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash called on the prime minister to reveal the details of any arrangement.
"Let's be clear in the first instance, these individuals, Australians, were part of a heroin-smuggling ring to bring back into Australia in excess of 8 kilograms of heroin," she said.
"Drug offences are some of the worst offences our society sees because of the devastating consequences on people, including death.
"It is now for PM Albanese to stand up in front of the Australian people and say what is the deal, what has he extracted in relation for the deal, what is Australia giving up in relation to the deal, how much is it going to cost the Australian taxpayer."
Matthew Norman and Si Yi Chen are the only two members of the Bali Nine who remain in Bali's Kerobokan prison, where all were initially held after their arrest and conviction. Both are involved in rehabilitation programs in the jail.
Chen runs a silversmith workshop, teaching the art of silversmithing, and Norman runs English and computer classes. Their rehabilitation projects are aimed at helping give fellow prisoners skills to use upon their release.
Scott Rush is now in the Bangli Narcotics jail, in Bali's north, while Michael Czugaj and Martin Stephens are in two different jails in Java.
Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran — both sentenced to death — were executed by firing squad in 2015 after spending the majority of their time at Kerobokan prison.
Tan Duch Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018 and, in the same year, Renae Lawrence — the only member of the Bali Nine not to receive a life or death sentence — returned home to Australia.
