"We have submitted a draft to be studied by the Australian government, especially by the Australian Embassy in Jakarta," he said at a joint press conference after a meeting with Australian Minister for Home Affairs, Tony Burke, in Jakarta on Tuesday.
According to Mahendra, the draft contains points of requirements submitted by the Indonesian government for the prisoner transfer.
The points include mandatory recognition from the Australian government of Indonesia's sovereignty and respect for the Indonesian court's decision.
The draft states that Indonesia will transfer the prisoners with prisoner status. However, if the Australian government grants them pardon, amnesty, or remission after the transfer, Indonesia will respect its decision, Mahendra informed.
Indonesia has also asked for access to monitor the prisoners after their return to their home country. In addition, the prisoner transfer cooperation is expected to be reciprocal.
"If, at some point, the Indonesian government requests the return of Indonesian prisoners in the country concerned, they should consider it," the minister said.
Moreover, Indonesia has emphasized that people involved in narcotics cases are banned for life from entering the country.
Mahendra expressed the hope that the Australian government will study the draft as soon as possible.
The transfer of the Bali Nine members to their home country was requested by the Australian government. The continuation of the prisoner transfer process was one of the topics discussed at the meeting between Mahendra and Burke.
Both the Australian and Indonesian governments are aware of the absence of specific laws regulating the transfer of prisoners.
However, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is willing to carefully consider the request for the prisoner transfer.
The Bali Nine is the nickname for nine Australian prisoners arrested in Bali for their involvement in a drug syndicate case in 2005. They were convicted of smuggling 8.2 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia.
The nine prisoners were Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrence, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, and Martin Stephens.
Chan and Sukumaran were executed in 2015, while Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and was released in 2018 after receiving several remissions.
Meanwhile, Nguyen died in custody in 2018 while serving a life sentence.
Currently, five Bali Nine prisoners are still serving life sentences in Indonesia.
Related news: Indonesia, Australia to discuss "Bali Nine" transfers next week
Related news: Minister reviews transfer of Bali Nine members to Australia
Translator: Fath Putra M, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
