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On the eve of her release, Norman, 38 – the youngest member of the Bali Nine in prison – told this masthead that he wished Lawrence the best of luck.
“What’s going on with Renae, that’s her story. She was sentenced by the courts to 20 years and she has run her course. She has got her [sentence] remissions, she has done what she needs to do to get out,” he said.
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“I wish her all the best of luck. For me, I’m still here with a life sentence and I’m still doing all that I can to better myself. I still have hope that my sentence will come down.”
And Norman spoke about his hopes of one day being released.
“I believe that through the Indonesian judicial system, with a life sentence you have many opportunities to have your sentence reduced and we have been applying for the past years to get that reduction. We still haven’t just yet, but we still have hope that we can get our sentence reduced and that one day we will get out of here.”
It is unlikely the five would be required to serve life sentences in Australia, but it is likely they would have to serve at least some additional time here.
The Australian newspaper reported on Friday evening that Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s co-ordinating minister for legal affairs, human rights, immigration and corrections, had said that his country did not yet have prisoner exchange laws, but that the transfer could be made under the framework of mutual legal assistance.
“In Peru, the Australian prime minister made the request for the transfer of Australian prisoners with President Prabowo,” Mahendra said on Friday.
“The Indonesia president responded that they are currently reviewing and processing the matter, and it is expected to be carried out in December.”
Mahendra said the Indonesian government would take the same approach as it had taken to Filipino woman Mary Jane Veloso, who had been on death row in Indonesia and was due to be executed alongside Chan and Sukumaran in 2015, but who received a reprieve.
Filipino president Ferdinand Marcos recently announced that a transfer deal had been struck with Indonesia and that Veloso would return home soon.
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