The remaining five Bali nine prisoners will be sent to Australia

The five remaining prisoners from the infamous Bali Nine group are scheduled to be deported from Indonesia to Australia next month.

Australians Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush and Michael Czugaj are serving life sentences in miserable Bali prisons.

In 2005 they and four other Australians were arrested by Indonesian authorities while trying to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies off the holiday island.

Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, while Renae Lawrence was released the same year after her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal.

The masterminds of the drug scheme, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad on Nusa Kambangan, or ‘Prison Island,’ in 2015.

On Friday, Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Sentencing Coordinator Yusril Ihza Mahendra told The Weekend Australian Anthony Albanese had requested the prisoners be transferred to Australia.

‘The President of Indonesia said that they are currently reviewing and processing the matter and this is expected to be done in December,’ he said.

He added that Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had previously requested ‘the transfer to Australia of Australian citizens convicted of drug offenses and serving sentences in various prisons’.

Australians Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush (Photo of Rush in 2005) and Michael Czugaj are all serving life sentences in miserable Bali prisons.

Pictured are Bali Nine members Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence from top left to right and bottom row from left to right are Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephen and Andrew Chan.

The arrest of the Bali Nine caused widespread controversy because they had been tipped off to be carrying drugs by the Australian Federal Police; this police could allow them to go to Australia, where they would not face the death penalty.

Rush, whose death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2011, was moved to Karangasem prison in eastern Bali in early 2014.

In December 2019, Rush vowed to become an anti-drug campaigner in an emotional letter pleading for a reduced life sentence.

“I sincerely apologize to the Indonesian government and citizens for the shameful impact my action has had on the country and people of Indonesia,” the letter said.

Bali Nine member Michael Czugaj seen in 2006

The Queenslander said he wanted to become an ‘anti-drug ambassador’ to make a positive contribution to society.

This impassioned letter came after photos were leaked in 2014 showing Rush smoking crack cocaine in Kerobokan Prison.

Meanwhile, Lawrence, the only Bali Nine member to return to society, said he was struggling to find normalcy.

He had previously requested that the sentences of the remaining five prisoners be reduced.

He said that for the remaining five, being locked up was ‘like a death sentence’.

“We’ve all done something stupid, we all regret it, but everyone deserves a second chance,” Lawrence said in February 2020.

‘If this doesn’t happen, they have no hope, they lose hope and the end will be devastating.’

Renae Lawrence is the only Bali Nine member to be released back into society