Bali Nine’s Renae talks of freedom

BALI Nine heroin courier Renae Lawrence has told of her mixed emotions at being freed from jail and returning to Australia.

Lawrence, in an exclusive interview with the Herald Sun at her Bali jail this week, says she is nervous, happy, sad, confused and emotional about her impending freedom.

She hopes to get a job in Australia upon her release, but is not sure what she will do yet.

Lawrence is due to be released from Bali’s Bangli jail in November, after serving 13 years and six months for her role in the 2005 heroin trafficking operation.

Speaking this week during a traditional Balinese card game competition in her jail, to cele- brate Indonesia’s upcoming Independence Day, Lawrence said her mixed emotions stem from the fact the rest of the Bali Nine remain locked up on life sentences.

And three have died — Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were executed by firing squad in 2015 and Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died this year of cancer. Asked how she was feeling about walking free, Lawrence said she was nervous. “Yes, emotional, mixed feelings, happy, confused, sad, all (of them),” she said.

“What about the others? Only I will be free. The others aren’t free,” she said.

They have all been sentenced to life in jail, with no prospect of release or remissions, and have so far been unsuccessful in having their sentences commuted to 20 years or less. Lawrence was the only member of the Bali Nine to receive a sentence less than life. She was given 20 years and with yearly remissions and sentence cuts for good behaviour her sentence expired in May this year.

She was however unable to pay the $100,000 fine and has opted to remain in jail for an extra six months. Lawrence said she plans to work in Australia, but says it is not easy for an ex-prisoner to get a job.