Five members of Bali Nine have reportedly returned home in Australia after the federal government struck a deal with Indonesia
It’s understood that Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj flew back to Australian on a commercial flight on Sunday in a top secret operation.
It’s understood the five men won’t be required to serve prison sentences in Australia and will be able to live freely in the community.
The development comes after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese requested the transfer at a recent meeting with new Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto.
The Prime Minister has since confirmed the five men have returned home.
‘I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon. I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion,’ he wrote on X
The five Aussies were arrested alongside Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Renae Lawrence in April 2005.
Tingleaders Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April of 2015. Stephen’s former cellmate Nguyen died from cancer in 2018, while Lawrence was released that year after her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal.
More to come
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