Bali Nine Australian Renae Lawerence could get a special Indonesian Independence Day sentence reduction, meaning a release date next year, if her recommendation for remission gets approved.
Thursday, August 17, marks the 72nd anniversary of Indonesian independence from the Dutch. It’s customary in Indonesia to knock a little time off sentences during special holidays like this one, as well as Idul Fitri and Christmas.
Lawrence could get a remission of six months, according to the head of Bali’s Legal and Human Rights Office, Maryoto Sumadi.
“She was proposed to receive a six months remission,” he said on Wednesday, as quoted by AAP.
Lawrence is currently serving out her sentence in Bali’s Bangli prison, located more north, away from the island’s busy tourist zones.
As many as 24 foreign prisoners in Bali have been recommended for sentence cuts this Independence Day, says Sumadi.
Lawrence, 39, was handed 20 years behind bars for her role in a 2004 heroin smuggling operation involving nine Australians called the Bali Nine. The group’s ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015.
Since being locked up, she has already gotten reductions of more than five years for good behavior.
This six month reduction could apparently result in Lawrence’s release next year.
