Bali Nine members return to their home country.

After almost two decades behind bars, the five remaining members of the Bali Nine have finally returned home. Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens, Michael Czugaj, and Si Yi Chen were released from an Indonesian prison and arrived back in Australia after spending four nights at a facility in Darwin. Michael Czugaj made his way to Brisbane while Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman landed in Melbourne. Martin Stephens was greeted at Sydney Airport and driven to Wollongong.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke about the release of the Bali Nine members this morning, acknowledging the significant price they have already paid for their crime. He also recognized the impact on their families, who have also endured the consequences of their actions. Scott Rush, who currently resides in Queensland, has yet to be seen as there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest for allegedly stealing money from the Commonwealth Bank in 2005. The status of this warrant is currently unknown.

For those unfamiliar with the case, the Bali Nine were a group of nine Australians caught attempting to smuggle over 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The group, including Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, and Renae Lawrence, planned to bring the drugs into Australia, where they would have been worth approximately $4 million. However, they were apprehended by Indonesian police with the support of the Australian Federal Police before they could leave Indonesian soil.

Trials for the Bali Nine members took place over four consecutive days in October 2005, with seven of them ultimately receiving life sentences from the Denpasar district court. These included Lawrence, Rush, Czugaj, Stephens, Norman, Chen, and Nguyen. The two ringleaders, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic controversy.

For the remaining five members, they were facing life sentences without the possibility of parole until Prime Minister Anthony Albanese negotiated an agreement with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto for their release. Now, after almost 20 years, they are finally home with their families and beginning the next chapter of their lives.

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