BRING THEM HOME
BALI BISHOP’S PLEA FOR ‘BALI 9’
TOWNSVILLE Bishop Tim Harris has demanded the remaining imprisoned members of the “Bali Nine” be released from the “terrible” prison where they have been incarcerated for 13 years.
Following the deportation of Renae Lawrence yesterday, five of the nine drug smugglers remain behind bars after they were caught trying to smuggle out more than 8kg of heroin in April 2005.
Bishop Harris ( pictured) personally knew two of the prisoners, Scott Rush and Michael Czugai, who went to school in Brisbane’s Corinda- Graceville Catholic parish, where he was the priest before he became Townsville Bishop.
He was on holiday when news broke the Bali Nine had been arrested.
“I learned about their fate when on holiday. I felt a real sense inside me to first of all support the two young men and reach out to their families,” Bishop Harris said.
“The boys I understand got up to a bit of bad stuff. The parents knew they weren’t saints.”
Bishop Harris visited Rush and Czugai in Bali’s Kerobokan prison in 2008.
He described the conditions of the Indonesian prison as a “terrible” “earthly hell”.
“There were three in a room and the rooms were very small and stuffy,” he said.
“There was an open trough ( used as a toilet) in the middle of the room.
“I think every human deserves dignity.”
Bishop Harris said the prisoners had “done the crime and done the time”.
“I’d like them to come back to Australia and get on with their lives but not be unsupervised,” he said.
“I honestly don’t wish them anymore harm.”
He said the prisoners who still faced criminal charges, like Lawrence who was allegedly involved in a high- speed chase in a stolen car a month before her arrest in Bali, should be held accountable for their actions.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said he had no sympathy for Lawrence. Talking to Sky News, Mr Dutton flatly rejected suggestions Lawrence should be shown leniency after serving her sentence.
“If you commit that offence, there is a heavy penalty to pay, and it doesn’t give you credit when you get back to Australia,” Mr Dutton said.
“If you’ve committed offences in our country, you need to face the justice system here.”
Bishop Harris said there would be “no political points scored” if politicians advocated for the release of the remaining Bali Nine members.
He said he did not believe the early release of Lawrence was unfair as she “was apparently a model prisoner” but said the remaining prisoners deserved an “incentive” to behave and be given another chance.
Bishop Harris said the remaining Bali Nine prisoners were “silly mules” after ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015 and another of the prisoners, Thanh Nguyen, died of cancer in May.
“The mules aren’t very bright and they need help, I believe,” Bishop Harris said.