A member of the Bali Nine drug syndicate faces a heartbreaking goodbye when Indonesian authorities finally confirm his move to Australia in the coming weeks.
Matthew Norman, 38, has built an unconventional life for himself during his 19 years behind bars in Bali’s feared Kerobokan prison, with his wife of eight years, Anita, by his side.
However, once Norman returns to Australian soil, he will be banned from returning to Indonesia, jeopardizing their 12-year relationship.
Norman and Anita had been dating for four years before the happy couple tied the knot on the prison grounds, surrounded by friends and family, on February 5, 2016.
The day also meant Norman became stepfather to Anita’s young daughter Stella, now 15, who was her maid of honor.
Since then, the family has made the most of relaxed rules for visitors that allow them to spend up to three hours a day together and turned the prison into a strange home away from home for them.
Loving family photos show smiling husband and wife celebrating special occasions, including Stella’s recent graduation in June and Norman’s birthday in September.
Norman’s devoted father Michael also moved to Bali to be by his son’s side after packing his bags in Sydney over concerns about his son’s well-being while in jail.
Matthew Norman, 38, has built an unconventional life for himself during his 19 years behind bars in Bali’s feared Kerobokan prison, with his wife of eight years, Anita, by his side.
Matthew Norman will never be allowed to return to Indonesia if he is transferred to Australia.
Anita’s daughter Stella was a little girl when Norman started dating her mother and is now a loving father to the teenager.
However, Norman’s mother Robyn died earlier this year before she could see her son released from prison.
Norman also runs a screen printing and graphic design program called Redemption from his prison.
The program teaches inmates skills and “helps them make better decisions to break the cycle of recidivism.”
Norman was only 18 when he was arrested and was the youngest member of the gang when the police showed up.
The emotional stress he suffered in jail shortly after his arrest was a cause for concern to psychiatrists who spoke with him days after his incarceration.
After two weeks, he was the only one of his cellmates, including Tan Duk Thanh Nguyen, Si Yi Chen, Scott Rush, Renae Lawrence and Michael Czugaj, who had not yet received a visit from his family.
Norman’s parents were noticeably absent as the other parents arrived with food and care packages for their children while they were detained before the trial.
Reports at the time suggested his family had gone into hiding after receiving ominous threats from the drug lords behind the smuggling operation.
It is not yet clear how the inmates will be returned to Australia or whether or not they will have to serve the remainder of their sentence behind bars in their country.
Matthew Norman is seen behind bars in 2007 at Bali’s famous Kerobokan prison.
Pictured from top left: Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence. Below: Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephen and Andrew Chan
Home Secretary Tony Burke will fly to Jakarta this week to negotiate final details, raising hopes they could return within weeks, if not days.
The pardon will come too late for ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran, who were executed by firing squad in April 2015.
Nguyen died of cancer in 2018, while Lawrence was freed that year when her life sentence was reduced to 20 years on appeal.
Yi Chen serves his sentence alongside Norman at Kerobokan. Martin Stephens, Rush and Czugaj are in prisons in Bali and Java.