"Certainly, she would be banned from entering Indonesia for the rest of her life. As of now, she is in the administrative custody in the immigration detention room at the Ngurah Rai Airport, while waiting for her deportation," Head of Bali`s Immigration Office, Agato Simamora, noted during a press conference here on Wednesday.
The official release paper of the only female member of the nine drug smuggling group was announced on Wednesday, after she had served 13 years behind bars from her actual 20 years of imprisonment.
Lawrence was arrested at Bali airport in 2005, along with the other eight Australians, for their role in an attempt to smuggle 8.1 kilograms of heroin out of the country. She was arrested with around 2 kilograms of heroine strapped to her back and legs.
At present, the official stated that she would be transferred to the Ngurah Rai Airport, but would not be sent all the way to Australia due to return-to-base possibility from the Australian immigration authority.
"We would just ensure that she leaves the Indonesian territory, and then we would coordinate with the local authority," Simamora noted.
When Lawrence returns home, she is expected to face a New South Wales Court for an alleged high-speed chase in a stolen car case in March 2005; however, Simamora remarked that the Indonesian authority has not yet received any requests from their Australian counterpart for any particular treatment related to her case.
"We are aware that Australian law is very different from Indonesian law; so basically, she is just a foreigner who has finished her sentence and does not have residence permit anymore," he explained.
Simamora emphasized that Lawrence would not receive any special treatment during her deportation process, such as waiting in the VIP room.
"The most important thing is the security. We will not take her through VIP line at the Ngurah Rai Airport," he elaborated, adding that the authority would not consider Lawrence and her family`s request for some special treatments.
Reporting by Made Surya, Naufal Fikri Yusuf, Azizah Fitriyanti
Editing by Yoseph Haryadi
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
