As the final Bali Nine transfer deal nears completion, one notorious drug syndicate member can’t let himself celebrate the bittersweet news.
Resigned to die behind bars, Martin Stephens, 48, has spent almost 20 years creating an unconventional life and is now a husband and stepfather.
But the former Wollongong bartender now faces the prospect of being locked up in an Australian jail cell, something he knows will not allow him to enjoy the benefits he currently enjoys at Lowokwaru Prison in Malang, East Java.
With regular visits from his wife Christine Puspayanti and stepdaughter Laura, Stephens previously said he would “reject” a prisoner swap.
“I am much freer here than in an Australian prison, although logically it would be better for my parents,” Stephens said in his last interview in 2020.
‘I teach English and play the seruling (traditional bamboo flute), but I haven’t learned Indonesian. “I want to maintain my Australian identity and avoid getting involved in factional fighting,” he told Indonesia Expat.
Rumors have always abounded that Stephens, along with fellow Bali Nine member Tan Nguyen, were transferred to the remote town of Malang, nine hours from Bali, due to behavioral problems at Kerobokan Prison.
But Stephens insists he requested the transfer in hopes of getting closer to his wife and distancing himself from other members of the drug gang.
Martin Stephens married Christine Puspayanti in 2011, five years after they met.
Stephens worries he won’t get the same freedoms in an Australian jail
Stephens claims to be the ‘black sheep’ of the Bali Nine and asked for a prison transfer to distance himself
‘I asked to be moved to be closer to my wife and apart from others. I don’t want to meet them. He wasn’t in his syndicate that did drug trafficking before. I have always been known as the “black sheep” of the Bali Nine.
In 2005, the same year he was caught trafficking heroin off the resort island, Stephens met Puspayanti when she visited Kerobokan prison with a friend.
The couple fell in love and eventually married behind bars in April 2011 in front of 100 guests including their families and the other eight members of Bali Nine, Andrew Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen . Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Renae Lawrence.
The prison governor, Siswanto, granted a post-wedding celebration and conjugal visit that same night in a specially prepared room.
Of the other Bali Nine members arrested in the original raid, ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in April 2015. Stephen’s former cellmate Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, while Lawrence was released that year after his life sentence was reduced to 20 years. years on appeal.
Stephens wants to take care of his mother, Michele Stephens, who has been a constant support during his incarceration.
Stephens was transferred to an East Java prison with fellow inmate Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen.
Pictured, top left to right: Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence and bottom: Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephen and Andrew Chan.
It is not yet clear how the inmates will be returned and whether or not they will have to serve the remainder of their sentence in Australia.
Home Secretary Tony Burke will travel to Yakata next week to negotiate final details.
If released on Australian soil, Stephens says he would dedicate his life to helping others.
‘My wife and daughter are struggling. My parents in Australia are doing it hard because of me. I want to take care of them. Why should they continue to pay for my first offense? What’s the point of keeping me behind bars? “I want to be a good citizen and contribute.”