After weeks of intrigue about a possible deal, the remaining members of the Bali Nine have been released from prison in Indonesia and returned to Australia. The five Australians have served nearly 20 years of their life sentences for their involvement in a drug-smuggling operation.
The legal basis for their return is not yet clear because there is no prisoner transfer agreement between Indonesia and Australia. This is not surprising, given agreements of this sort are notoriously difficult to negotiate, due to the disparities in sentencing between countries for offences like these.
But it is clear the transition from former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to the country’s new leader, Prabowo Subianto, earlier this year was key to this deal happening now. There are three reasons for this.
A new president looking for credibility Jokowi was elected to his first term in 2014 after campaigning on a “tough on drugs” platform. He stuck to this pledge throughout his presidency, refusing to grant clemency to drug offenders and encouraging police to shoot drug traffickers if they resisted arrest.
The courts also imposed tough sentences on drug offenders during this time, which meant many people – mainly Indonesians, of course – went to jail for even relatively minor drug offences. This led to huge overcrowding in Indonesia’s prisons, creating horrendous conditions for prisoners and huge costs to the government.
A new president looking for credibility Jokowi was elected to his first term in 2014 after campaigning on a “tough on drugs” platform. He stuck to this pledge throughout his presidency, refusing to grant clemency to drug offenders and encouraging police to shoot drug traffickers if they resisted arrest.
The courts also imposed tough sentences on drug offenders during this time, which meant many people – mainly Indonesians, of course – went to jail for even relatively minor drug offences. This led to huge overcrowding in Indonesia’s prisons, creating horrendous conditions for prisoners and huge costs to the government.
But despite these problems and pressure from many countries – particularly those that had citizens imprisoned in Indonesia – Jokowi refused to budge on his “war on drugs” stance.
And so lengthy negotiations to bring the remaining members of the Bali Nine home were doomed to failure while Jokowi remained in office. This was perhaps most notable under prime minister Tony Abbott, when two members of the group were executed.
What’s shifted since then is Prabowo’s election in February this year.
At first glance, it seems surprising he would be the one to give mercy to the Bali Five, given his reputation. During his time in the military under the former dictator Suharto (then his father-in-law), he faced serious, credible allegations of human rights abuses involving troops under his command in East Timor and Papua, which he denies.
In 1998, the special forces he commanded were also accused of abducting and torturing more than 20 student protesters, 13 of whom are still missing, presumed dead. Prabowo never faced trial, although several of his men did.
When Prabowo made his third run for the presidency this year, however, he made a huge effort to rebrand himself and distance himself from his controversial past.
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Given Jokowi refused to ever contemplate allowing the Bali Nine to return home, this move differentiates Prabowo dramatically from his predecessor. It also casts him in a pretty good light internationally.
Unlike Jokowi, who was much more concerned about domestic matters and was decidedly not a foreign affairs president, Prabowo is very focused on Indonesia’s place in the world.
We saw this during his time as defence minister, when he was active in international forums and even sought to broker an agreement to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. This was unsuccessful, but it reflects the fact he sees himself as a player on the global stage.