This list of Australians imprisoned or executed abroad includes those cases where:
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen John Sutton | Sydney, New South Wales | Drug trafficking | 4 February 2003 | November 2008 | Sentenced to 11 years. Released from prison in November 2008. [1] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jock Palfreeman | Sydney, New South Wales | Murder and wounding | December 2007 | Paroled in September 2019 | Sentenced to 20 years' jail. [2] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gordon Vuong | Campsie, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | January 2005 | 2018 | Sentenced to 13 years in May 2005. [3] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Francis James | Sydney, New South Wales | None (accused of espionage) | 4 November 1969 | 16 January 1973 | Australian publisher, detained without trial until deportation. [4] |
Stern Hu | Melbourne, Victoria | Stealing commercial secrets and receiving bribes | 5 July 2009 | July 2018 | Australian iron ore enterprise businessman. Sentenced to 10 years' jail. [5] |
Kalynda Davis | Sydney, New South Wales | No conviction | 8 November 2014 [6] | 9 December 2014 | |
Henry Chin | Sydney, New South Wales | Convicted of trying to send 270 grams of methamphetamine to Australia | May 2004 | Sentenced to death in 2005. The sentence was suspended for two years. Current fate is unknown. [9] | |
Karm Gilespie | Ballarat, Victoria | Smuggling 7.5 kg of methamphetamine out of China | 2013 | Death sentence announced on 10 June by Guangzhou District Court after having been missing for 7 years [10] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cassandra Sainsbury | Adelaide, South Australia | Drug trafficking (cocaine) | 11 April 2017 | 16 April 2020 | Sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment. [11] Paroled after 3 years; remained in Colombia for 23 months and deported. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Greste | Brisbane, Queensland | Using unlicensed equipment to broadcast false information to defame and destabilise Egypt | 29 December 2013 | 1 February 2015 (deported) |
|
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thomas McCosker | Warrnambool, Victoria | Sodomy | 3 April 2005 | 28 August 2005 |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Schapelle Corby | Gold Coast, Queensland | Drug trafficking (cannabis) | 8 October 2004 | 10 February 2014 |
|
Andrew Chan | Enfield, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | Executed | |
Si Yi Chen | Doonside, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | ||
Michael Czugaj | Oxley, Queensland | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | ||
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen | Wellington Point, Queensland | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | Died 9 May 2018 | |
Matthew Norman | Quakers Hill, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | ||
Scott Rush | Chelmer, Queensland | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 |
| |
Martin Stephens | Towradgi, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 |
| |
Myuran Sukumaran | Auburn, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | Executed |
|
Renae Lawrence | Newcastle, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 17 April 2005 | 21 November 2018 | |
Michelle Leslie | Adelaide, South Australia | Possession of ecstasy tablets | 21 August 2005 | 19 November 2005 | |
Michael Sacatides | Wentworthville, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (methamphetamine) | 1 October 2010 |
|
A prisoner exchange agreement is currently being negotiated between Australia and Indonesia. [23]
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denis Michael Rohan | Sydney | Arson attack | 23 August 1969 | 14 May 1974 | Found to be insane, and hospitalised in a mental institution. Deported from Israel 14 May 1974, and reportedly died in 1995 under psychiatric care. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tallaal Adrey | Auburn, New South Wales | Weapons possession Weapons trading Ammunition possession Ammunition trading | 14 February 2005 | 2009 | Sentenced to 4 years. [24] [25] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kerry and Kay Danes | Brisbane, Queensland | Tax evasion Embezzlement Destruction of evidence (pardoned and absolved) | 23 December 2000 | 6 October 2001 |
|
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carl Heine | Singleton, New South Wales | No trial | 1942 | Executed | Executed by beheading in April 1944. [27] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kevin Barlow (a dual British citizen) [28] | Perth, Western Australia | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 9 November 1983 | Executed | Executed by hanging on 7 July 1986. [29] [30] |
Brian Chambers | Perth, Western Australia | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 9 November 1983 | Executed | Executed by hanging on 7 July 1986. [29] [30] |
Michael McAuliffe | Sydney, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 29 June 1985 | Executed | Executed by hanging in June 1993. [31] |
Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto | Sydney, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (methamphetamine) | December 2014 | 26 November 2019 [32] | Acquitted by the Malaysian High Court and ordered immediate release. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brenton Tarrant | Grafton, New South Wales | Murder Attempted murder Terrorism | 15 March 2019 | Trial date listed for 2 June 2020. Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on 27 August 2020 [33] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
John Short | Barmera, South Australia | Circulation of Christian literature at a Buddhist temple | 16 February 2014 | 3 March 2014 |
|
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Peter Scully | Melbourne, Victoria | Human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse and torture of children | 20 February 2015 | Sentenced to life in prison in 2018, and received an additional 129 years for a second conviction in 2022. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Page and nine others | Various – members of Z Special Unit | Perfidy and espionage (Operation Rimau) | December 1944 – January 1945 | Executed | Executed by beheading on 7 July 1945. [34] |
Van Tuong Nguyen | Melbourne, Victoria | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 12 December 2002 | Executed | Executed by hanging on 2 December 2005. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harry Harbord 'Breaker' Morant | Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia | War crimes | 23 October 1901 | Executed | Executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902. |
Peter Handcock | New South Wales | War crimes | 23 October 1901 | Executed | Executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902. |
George Witton | Victoria, Australia | War crimes | 23 October 1901 | 11 August 1904 | Sentenced to death by firing squad, which was commuted to life in prison. Released early due to public and political pressure in England and Australia. |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reg Spiers | Adelaide, South Australia | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 1 December 1984 | 1987 | Sentenced to death, acquitted on appeal. [35] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warren Fellows | Sydney, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 11 October 1978 | 11 January 1990 | Sentenced to life, received a pardon. [36] |
Paul Hayward | Sydney, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | 11 October 1978 | 7 April 1989 | Sentenced to 30 years, received a pardon. [36] |
Nola Blake | Botany, New South Wales | Drug trafficking (heroin) | January 1987 | March 1998 | Originally sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. Received a Royal Pardon. |
Holly Deane-Johns | Western Australia | Drug trafficking (heroin) | August 2000 | December 2012 | Sentenced to 31 years. Transferred to Bandyup Women's Prison in Australia in late 2007. [37] |
Robert Halliwell | Sydney | Drug trafficking (heroin) | August 2000 | Arrested with Deane-Johns whilst attempting to post heroin to Australia. Police later found another 110 grams of heroin in Halliwell's apartment. Sentenced to life imprisonment. [37] |
A prisoner exchange agreement exists between Australia and Thailand allowing prisoner transfers. [38]
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Samandar Hout Kilani | Afghanistan / Australia | Robbery | July 2011 | September 2013 | 3 year prison sentence in Dubai's Central Jail. [39] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rolf Harris | Bassendean, Western Australia | Indecent assault | August 2013 | 19 May 2017 | Sentenced to 5 years and 9 months' imprisonment on 4 July 2014. |
Julian Assange | Townsville, Queensland | Skipping bail | 11 April 2019 | 26 June 2024 | Sentenced to 50 weeks' imprisonment on 1 May 2019 |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jean-Philippe Wispelaere | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Espionage | 15 May 1999 | 2012 | Former Defence Intelligence Organisation officer who sought to sell secrets to a foreign power. [40] [41] |
Mamdouh Habib | Sydney, New South Wales | none | 5 October 2001 | 28 January 2005 | Arrested in 2001, Habib was interrogated by Pakistani and US CIA agents before being transferred to Egypt, then to a black site in Afghanistan, where he was further interrogated under torture. Transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002. Released without charge in 2005. [42] |
David Hicks | Adelaide, South Australia | Unlawful combatant | November 2001 | 1 January 2008 | Prisoner of the US Government held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on unlawful combatant charges. [43] Returned to Australia on 20 May 2007 to serve the remaining nine months of his sentence in Yatala Labour Prison, Adelaide. [44] |
Russell Moore [lower-alpha 1] | Melbourne, Victoria | Murder Robbery Sexual assault | 1988 | Deceased | Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 1991 for the murder, robbery and sexual assault of Barbara Barber in Melbourne, Florida. Died in custody at the Apalachee Correctional Institution on 2 June 2021. [45] |
Prisoner | From | Convictions | Arrested | Release date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phạm Trung Dũng | Vietnam / Australia | Drug trafficking (heroin) | May 2013 | Sentenced to death on 27 June 2014. [46] |
Roger Caleb Rogerson was an Australian detective sergeant in the New South Wales Police Force and a convicted murderer. During his career, Rogerson received at least thirteen awards for bravery, outstanding policemanship and devotion to duty, before being implicated in two killings, bribery, assault and drug dealing, and then being dismissed from the force in 1986.
Schapelle Leigh Corby is an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. She spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison. Since her arrest Corby has publicly maintained that the drugs were planted in her bodyboard bag and that she did not know about them. Her trial and conviction were a major focus of attention for the Australian media.
The Bali Nine were a group of nine Australians convicted for attempting to smuggle 8.3 kg (18 lb) of heroin out of Indonesia in April 2005. The heroin was valued at around A$4 million and was bound for Australia. Ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and executed on 29 April 2015. Six other members, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens, were sentenced to life imprisonment and another, Renae Lawrence, to a 20-year sentence but was released after the sentence was commuted in November 2018. The Indonesian authorities reported on 5 June 2018 that Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen had died of stomach cancer.
Renae Lawrence is an Australian woman who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine.
Martin Eric Stephens is an Australian former bartender who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Stephens was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) of heroin taped to his chest and concealed under his clothing. After a criminal trial, on 14 February 2006 Stephens was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced to 10 years was rejected in January 2011.
Matthew James Norman is an Australian man who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Norman was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Norman was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Norman to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.
The Pong Su incident began on 16 April 2003 when heroin was smuggled from the Pong Su, a North Korean cargo ship, onto an Australian beach. Australian military special forces subsequently boarded the Pong Su in Australian territorial waters four days later. The ship was suspected of being involved in smuggling almost 125 kilograms (276 lb) of heroin into Australia with an estimated street value of A$160 million.
Myuran Sukumaran was an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia of drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali with eight others. Police found 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. According to court testimonies of convicted drug mules, Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were the co-ringleaders of the heroin-smuggling operation from Indonesia to Australia. After a criminal trial, Sukumaran was sentenced on 14 February 2006 by the Denpasar District Court to execution by firing squad.
Scott Anthony Rush is an Australian former labourer who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Rush was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) of heroin concealed on his body. After a criminal trial, on 13 February 2006, Rush was sentenced to life imprisonment. After appealing against the severity of the sentence, in a surprise outcome handed down by the Bali High Court on 6 September 2006, Rush's sentence was changed to the death penalty. On 10 May 2011, Rush's death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court.
Andrew Chan (Chinese: 陳子維; Jyutping: Can4 Zi2 Wai4; 12 January 1984 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian man who was convicted and executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar. According to court testimonies of convicted drug mules, Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were the co-ringleaders of the heroin smuggling operation from Indonesia to Australia. After a criminal trial on 14 February 2006, Chan was sentenced to execution by firing squad by the Denpasar District Court.
Michael William Czugaj is an Australian former glazier from Oxley, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking of heroin as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Czugaj was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) of heroin concealed on his body. After a criminal trial on 14 February 2006 Czugaj was sentenced to life imprisonment. His life sentence was reduced to a term of 20 years on appeal on 26 April 2006, but reinstated five months later.
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen was a Vietnamese–Australian citizen. He was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Nguyen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Nguyen was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006.
Si Yi Chen is an Australian man who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Chen to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.
Milton Orkopoulos is an Australian convicted sex offender and former politician. A member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2006, Orkopoulos was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship in August 2005.
Although there is an extradition agreement and a 'Treaty of Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters' between Australia and Indonesia, there is currently no formal agreement for prisoner transfer between the two countries. An Australian prisoner under sentence in Indonesia must serve their entire sentence there, and vice versa.
Terrorism in Australia deals with terrorist acts in Australia as well as steps taken by the Australian government to counter the threat of terrorism. In 2004 the Australian government has identified transnational terrorism as also a threat to Australia and to Australian citizens overseas. Australia has experienced acts of modern terrorism since the 1960s, while the federal parliament, since the 1970s, has enacted legislation seeking to target terrorism.
Kerobokan Penitentiary Institution is a prison located in Kerobokan, Badung Regency, on the Indonesian island of Bali. Located 4 km away from the Canggu village, the prison opened in 1979 and was built to hold 300 inmates. As of 2017, the Kerobokan Prison contains over 1,400 male and female prisoners of various nationalities. More than 90% of the prisoners are Indonesian and 78% were convicted on drug charges. 15,000 rupiah ($1.08) per day is allocated for each prisoner.
Van Tuong Nguyen, baptised Caleb, was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. A Vietnamese Australian, he was also addressed as Nguyen Tuong-van (阮祥雲) in the Singaporean media, his name in Vietnamese custom, as well as in most Asian customs.
Life imprisonment is the most severe criminal sentence available to the courts in Australia. Most cases attracting the sentence are murder. It is also imposed, albeit rarely, for sexual assault, manufacturing and trafficking commercial quantities of illicit drugs, and offences against the justice system and government security.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The 41-year-old was released earlier this year