Aussie surfer Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones returns to Australia after month in Indonesian jail

An Australian tradie who spent a month behind bars after an alleged drunk and naked rampage while on a surfing holiday in a conservative Indonesian province is on his way home after being deported.

Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, had been in an Indonesian prison cell since late April after he was accused by police of drunken attacks on multiple people in the deeply conservative Muslim province of Aceh, including a fisherman who suffered serious leg injuries.

The tradie from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was released from prison on Tuesday after he went through a restorative justice process, apologised for the attack and agreed to pay compensation to the fisherman. 

That allowed him to avoid going to court and facing a possible charge of assault that could have landed him up to five years in prison.

He spent three nights at an immigration detention centre before he was deported on Saturday. 

Risby-Jones gave a smile and a thumbs up for the cameras as he was escorted by immigration through Soekarno-Hatta international airport for his flight home. 

Police claimed Risby-Jones (pictured on Saturday in Soekarno-Hatta international airport) was drunk in a province where alcohol is strictly prohibited

‘Of course I´m pretty emotional, so I´m going to feel bad about it,’ Risby-Jones told reporters at the airport. 

He said the fisherman’s relatives forgave him and told him that he was a part of their family now. 

‘I’m welcome to come back and even stay at their house whenever I want,’ he said.

‘So, that feeling of guilt is definitely much smaller that it was originally,’ he said.

His lawyer Idris Marbawi said the two sides agreed that Risby-Jones would pay the fisherman’s family for hospital fees and a traditional peace ceremony. 

The total payment was 300 million rupiah ($20,000). 

The fisherman underwent surgery in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital, for broken bones and an infection in his legs.

‘Risby-Jones is the first foreigner to successfully resolve a case through restorative justice in Aceh province,’ Marbawi said. 

‘He deeply regretted what happened and vowed to return to Indonesia for surfing.’

Footage of his release on Tuesday showed Risby-Jones being escorted by officers to a bus after hugging and saying goodbye to several prison wardens. 

After his release, Risby-Jones spent three nights at an immigration detention centre before he headed home on Saturday.

Authorities said Risby-Jones (above) had come to a peaceful resolution with the injured fisherman through ‘restorative justice’

Authorities said Risby-Jones (pictured before his arrest) had vowed to return to Indonesia for surfing

‘It’s been a long time coming and I’m feeling amazing and super happy and grateful,’ he said. 

‘Everyone has been very nice and accommodated me well. Thank you.’

He also acknowledged the stupidity of his actions.

‘I’m very, very relieved and happy,’ he said. 

‘I made a fool of myself and it was shown publicly worldwide.’

Violent acts by foreigners are rare in Aceh, the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that practices Shariah, a concession made by the central government in 2001 as part of efforts to end a decades-long war for independence. 

The sale and consumption of alcohol is forbidden in Aceh, and those found drunk have been caned in public.