(Bloomberg) -- Five of the so-called “Bali Nine” prisoners were returned to Australia, more than 19 years after their arrests in a drug smuggling case that periodically damaged ties with Indonesia.
Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj arrived on Sunday afternoon, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.
“The five men have been returned to Australia under an arrangement agreed between our two countries,” Albanese said. “They will now have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration here in Australia.”
The Bali Nine group were detained for attempting to smuggle 8 kilograms (17 pounds) of heroin out of the island — a popular tourist destination for Australians — in April 2005, and the case contributed to tense relations between the two countries at times. Australia recalled its ambassador in 2015 after two of the group — Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan — were executed.
A further detainee, Renae Lawrence, was released in 2018, and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died in prison in the same year.
The five who returned on Sunday had all been sentenced by Indonesia to life in prison.
Albanese praised Indonesian President Subianto Prabowo, who took office in October, over his intervention in the case. The leaders met last month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
The two nations will continue to cooperate “to counter narcotics trafficking and transnational crime,” Albanese said.
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