Drug smuggler Renae Lawrence makes sad admission about her life after jail - amid calls for the surviving members of the Bali Nine to be released
- A high profile religious minister is calling for the Bali Nine to be brought home
- Tim Harris, a bishop from Townsville, asked the Australian Government to step in
- Mr Harris said the Balinese prison has inhumanely rough and squalid conditions
- Lawrence's sentence was reduced and she was deported to Australia in 2018
- The 42-year-old said she has struggled to find 'normality' since her release
Convicted drug smuggler Renae Lawrence has admitted settling back into life after prison hasn't been easy, amid calls for the remaining Bali Nine members to be released.
In 2005, nine Australians were caught attempting to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin strapped to their bodies out of Indonesia.
Five of the nine members remain in squalid Balinese prisons, while masterminds Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer, while Renae Lawrence's sentence was reduced to 20 years and she was deported back to Australia in 2018.
Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence compared coronavirus lockdown to her time behind bars, but said she feels for the remaining men still locked up in Bali
Lawrence served her sentence in Bangli jail after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 2.6kg of heroin into Australia through Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on April 17, 2005
The 42-year-old said she has struggled to find 'normality' after spending 13 years locked up in Bali's notorious Kerobokan and Negara prisons.
'I don't currently work. I am dealing with both mental and physical health issues. But I like to think one day I will be able to get back into the workforce and find normality again,' she told New Idea.
Lawrence compared coronavirus lockdown to her time behind bars, but said she feels for the remaining men still locked up in Bali.
'Isolation life for me was actually very similar to being in prison, in the way that I had to distance myself form my parents,' she said.
Earlier this year, Lawrence pleaded for the remaining five prisoners to have their sentences reduced.
She said staying locked up was 'like a death sentence' for the remaining five.
Mr Harris, who has campaigned for the group since their arrest, said Scott Rush's (pictured) parents are desperate to bring their son home so he can at the very least serve the remainder of his sentence in an Australian prison
'We all did something stupid, we all regret it, but everybody deserves a second chance,' Lawrence said in February.
'If this doesn't happen, they have got no hope, they'll lose hope and the end will be devastating.'
Lawrence served her sentence in Bangli jail after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 2.6kg of heroin into Australia through Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on April 17, 2005.
The drugs were found strapped to her body - and the bodies of three other drug mules - after the Australian Federal Police tipped off Indonesian authorities.
Meanwhile, a high profile religious minister is calling on the Australian Government to bring the remaining members of the smuggling ring back to Australia.
Tim Harris, a bishop from Townsville, has called on the government to step in, saying languishing in a Balinese prison won't help the surviving five men get their lives back on track.
Mr Harris said the Indonesian prison, which houses Scott Rush, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen has inhumanely rough conditions.
'[There is an] open toilet and a number of people in the room. I don't know how they've kept going. You've got to say this is torture with no end in sight,' he told New Idea.
Left to right: Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence, Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Andrew Chan
Australian 'Bali nine' alleged heroin traffickers (left to right) Myuran Syukumaran,,Andrew Chan, Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Scott Anthony Rush in Bali, December 2, 2005
Mr Harris, who has campaigned for the group since their arrest, said Rush's parents are desperate to bring their son home so he can at the very least serve the remainder of his sentence in an Australian prison.
'I think our justice system must be able to deal with it in a sensible way. They can't give up on these men, and need to try and get them back on track,' he said.
Ringleaders Chan Sukumaran recruited six men and one woman aged between 19 and 30 years old and strapped heroin to their bodies in April 2005.
Lawrence, Stephens, Rush, Chen, Norman, Czugaj and Nguyen were arrested in a hotel and at Denapasar airport.
Chan and Sukumaran were executed in April 2015 by firing squad at Nusa Kambangan prison.
Rush, Stephens, Norman, Czugaj and Chen are all serving life sentences.
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