Merged: Five Aussies arrested in Papua
It does seem an odd thing for such an experienced person to do
.
Sentence is exessive no matter which way you look at it. The gov can put diplomatic pressure on Indonesia due to the large amount of aid they recieve from Australia each year.
Believe it or not Rudd does have enough influence to make a difference in these situations. I agree about taking responsibilty for your own actions, however. Fiji is a good example. Relations became very frosty following the latest coup and have not substantially improved. You go there at your own risk.
.Sentence is exessive no matter which way you look at it. The gov can put diplomatic pressure on Indonesia due to the large amount of aid they recieve from Australia each year.
Believe it or not Rudd does have enough influence to make a difference in these situations. I agree about taking responsibilty for your own actions, however. Fiji is a good example. Relations became very frosty following the latest coup and have not substantially improved. You go there at your own risk.
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The punishment is very harsh when anyone, who wants to see, can see that this arrival was a genuine mistake or at least only a misdemeanour.
If Australian diplomacy cannot help these five then they should apply for political asylum on the basis of having fled from a failed state and scream to the human rights organisations for help.
If Australian diplomacy cannot help these five then they should apply for political asylum on the basis of having fled from a failed state and scream to the human rights organisations for help.
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Well, Scottie's Pidjin is FLUENT..... maybe he would have a chance.
Ever heard his pidjin version of "T'was the night before christmas"? Facking hilarious.
Ever heard his pidjin version of "T'was the night before christmas"? Facking hilarious.
I was in (on ?) Nauru when the Tampa arrived to disgorge its wide-eyed,travel weary passengers as part of the 'Pacific Solution'.A crew from A Current Affair showed up sans visas and were deported on the spot.Even a tiny country with only 1 set of traffic lights (to allow the national carrier's 737 to cross the road and taxi to to the terminal) has entry rules.
I never travel overseas without checking the current visa requirements thoroughly,even from Oz to NZ. Attempting to talk your way in to a country on arrival without the necessary stamp in your passport is not one of my hobbies.
I never travel overseas without checking the current visa requirements thoroughly,even from Oz to NZ. Attempting to talk your way in to a country on arrival without the necessary stamp in your passport is not one of my hobbies.
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I feel sorry for the unsuspecting passengers. Bill should have known better...
Welcome to Indonesia - your jail cell awaits
A weekend flight for three days of adventure has landed five Australians in jail, write Harriet Alexander on Thursday Island and Lisa Murray in Jakarta.
It was another languid Saturday lunchtime at the Federal Hotel on Thursday Island, 30 kilometres north of Cape York, when an argument broke out between two friends.
Five locals were about to fly to Merauke in the Indonesian province of Papua for a three-day adventure weekend, a few hundred kilometres and a world away from their island lifestyle.
The pilot, William Scott-Bloxam - known as "Scotty" - and his wife, Vera, owned a charter business and wanted to investigate the potential of the area for fishing tours.
To subsidise the cost, they invited a friend, Hubert Hofer, a professional diver and shipwreck enthusiast who worked on a desalination plant, and Keith Mortimer, a builder who had renovated their house and who lived on his yacht, the Monte Cristo.
Mortimer brought along another friend, Karen Burke, a receptionist at the Jardine Motel on Thursday Island, and each paid the Scott-Bloxams $500.
But a week before they set off, an old friend of William Scott-Bloxam's suggested over lunch that the trip may be ill-advised.
Peter Watton had been to Merauke on business in 1999.
"I found the Indonesians to be extremely hostile to our presence there," he said. "I wouldn't go there as an Australian."
But Scott-Bloxam can be prickly about taking advice. "He said there's no problem," Watton recalled. "They had passports. He didn't mention the visas and I just took for granted that they would have got a visa before they went over there."
Watton tells the story cautiously but others remember it differently. The way Bob Slyne, Karen Burke's boyfriend, heard it, Scott-Bloxam was furious. "I've f------ been doing this all my life. Don't tell me I haven't got things organised," he reportedly said. That conversation is still hanging in the air over Timor Strait.
The five flew into Merauke's military base on September 12 and were promptly arrested for entering without visas.
Last week the four passengers were fined and jailed for two years; Scott-Bloxam was fined, sentenced to three years, and his plane confiscated. As one local put it: "It turned out to be a bloody long weekend."
Lawyers and consular officials have told the five jailed Australians the appeals process could take up to six months - and even then there is no guarantee the sentences will be reduced.
Pending the appeal, the five will remain in prison in Merauke. "This was an unbelievable shock to them," said Slyne, who is now in Papua.
"They were led to believe they would get a fine and a three-month jail sentence."
Slyne told the Herald conditions at the jail were "basic but clean".
"The people at the jail are being friendly and locals line up every day to give them food. We have had to limit the number of gifts because we don't want the other inmates to get jealous.
"They can play soccer and walk around in the yard. The conditions are relatively good."
The group's lawyer, Efrem Fangohoy, said Scott-Bloxam planned to give English lessons to the Indonesian inmates.
However, relations between the five Australians are strained as the passengers believe they were misled by their pilot about visa arrangements.
Burke, a seasoned traveller, has told friends she is "very embarrassed" that she made the mistake of trusting Scott-Bloxam to organise visas.
The 51-year-old had been to Indonesia before and enjoyed her trips there. So when an opportunity came along to fly to Papua, a place she knew little about, she jumped at the chance.
Now she is regretting the impulse and is having trouble sharing a cell with Vera Scott-Bloxam, whose husband failed to organise travel documents.
"They were told by the head of an airline that the visas were under control," Slyne said. "He was quite adamant that he knew what he was doing even though they questioned him on a number of occasions."
Burke thought it had sounded right when William Scott-Bloxam had told her a visa could be organised on arrival. In Jakarta, and at Bali's international airport at Denpasar, it is possible to get a visa on arrival. However, the movement of people to and from Papua is heavily restricted by the Indonesian Government, which has been battling a low-level separatist movement.
"Karen … had the opportunity to go to Papua for $500 and she thought 'why not,"' Slyne said. "She faxed off her passport details to the pilot and when she got up there, she was thrown in jail.
"A lot of people have said to Karen 'you should write a book'. But she said 'I'd be so embarrassed admitting what I did. It was just stupid."'
Before leaving for Papua, William Scott-Bloxam contacted Tom Bolser, a pilot who is based in Merauke for the US group Mission Aviation Fellowship.
According to an MAF spokesman, the two did not know each other before the email contact.
Bolser answered some of Scott-Bloxam's questions but he claims that he assumed as an international pilot, the Australian would understand that he was required to submit a flight plan.
Slyne says the email from Bolser, which Karen Burke read after being arrested, was vague and said they "might" be able to get visas on arrival.
Repeated requests for an interview with the Scott-Bloxams, made via their lawyer, have been declined.
Most people on Thursday Island suspect sinister motives on the parts of Jakarta and Canberra, which they hold in almost equal suspicion, in allowing their neighbours such long sentences.
The feisty local newspaper, the Torres News, editorialised that the five's predicament "had nothing to do with visa offences, but is a diplomatic power dispute between a paranoid, oppressive Indonesian Government and successive, gutless Australian governments … The Indonesian Government … are clearly still sulking over the arrival of 43 West Papuans in Australia … and this is a typical tit-for-tat response."
It is a view that finds traction at the Torres Hotel, "Australia's top pub", where Burke used to pop in for a drink after riding her bike from work.
Scott-Bloxam is a controversial figure in the islands, where he stands out from others whose lives revolve around boats and friends by owning a lodge and car hire company in Cooktown and Cape Air Transport on Horn Island. He is described variously as "dry", "abrupt", "stingy", and "grumpy".
"Scotty is a person who hates officialdom - is that a word?" said Bob at the Wongai Hotel on Horn Island. "He believes Australians are overgoverned and he tries to cut corners, and that's what he's done and got these people into a bad situation. But what he's done doesn't deserve three years in jail."
Mortimer's black yacht is still moored off Thursday Island and locals like to point it out before recounting their friend's story. He reminds them of his fate by sending text messages.
"Morning guys," the latest one said. "Cell 12 by 6 … locked in … broken … 16 hours a day living on the floor … rotten shower and toilet … money can get you anything … lobby local member … all well."
Welcome to Indonesia - your jail cell awaits - World - smh.com.au
Welcome to Indonesia - your jail cell awaits
A weekend flight for three days of adventure has landed five Australians in jail, write Harriet Alexander on Thursday Island and Lisa Murray in Jakarta.
It was another languid Saturday lunchtime at the Federal Hotel on Thursday Island, 30 kilometres north of Cape York, when an argument broke out between two friends.
Five locals were about to fly to Merauke in the Indonesian province of Papua for a three-day adventure weekend, a few hundred kilometres and a world away from their island lifestyle.
The pilot, William Scott-Bloxam - known as "Scotty" - and his wife, Vera, owned a charter business and wanted to investigate the potential of the area for fishing tours.
To subsidise the cost, they invited a friend, Hubert Hofer, a professional diver and shipwreck enthusiast who worked on a desalination plant, and Keith Mortimer, a builder who had renovated their house and who lived on his yacht, the Monte Cristo.
Mortimer brought along another friend, Karen Burke, a receptionist at the Jardine Motel on Thursday Island, and each paid the Scott-Bloxams $500.
But a week before they set off, an old friend of William Scott-Bloxam's suggested over lunch that the trip may be ill-advised.
Peter Watton had been to Merauke on business in 1999.
"I found the Indonesians to be extremely hostile to our presence there," he said. "I wouldn't go there as an Australian."
But Scott-Bloxam can be prickly about taking advice. "He said there's no problem," Watton recalled. "They had passports. He didn't mention the visas and I just took for granted that they would have got a visa before they went over there."
Watton tells the story cautiously but others remember it differently. The way Bob Slyne, Karen Burke's boyfriend, heard it, Scott-Bloxam was furious. "I've f------ been doing this all my life. Don't tell me I haven't got things organised," he reportedly said. That conversation is still hanging in the air over Timor Strait.
The five flew into Merauke's military base on September 12 and were promptly arrested for entering without visas.
Last week the four passengers were fined and jailed for two years; Scott-Bloxam was fined, sentenced to three years, and his plane confiscated. As one local put it: "It turned out to be a bloody long weekend."
Lawyers and consular officials have told the five jailed Australians the appeals process could take up to six months - and even then there is no guarantee the sentences will be reduced.
Pending the appeal, the five will remain in prison in Merauke. "This was an unbelievable shock to them," said Slyne, who is now in Papua.
"They were led to believe they would get a fine and a three-month jail sentence."
Slyne told the Herald conditions at the jail were "basic but clean".
"The people at the jail are being friendly and locals line up every day to give them food. We have had to limit the number of gifts because we don't want the other inmates to get jealous.
"They can play soccer and walk around in the yard. The conditions are relatively good."
The group's lawyer, Efrem Fangohoy, said Scott-Bloxam planned to give English lessons to the Indonesian inmates.
However, relations between the five Australians are strained as the passengers believe they were misled by their pilot about visa arrangements.
Burke, a seasoned traveller, has told friends she is "very embarrassed" that she made the mistake of trusting Scott-Bloxam to organise visas.
The 51-year-old had been to Indonesia before and enjoyed her trips there. So when an opportunity came along to fly to Papua, a place she knew little about, she jumped at the chance.
Now she is regretting the impulse and is having trouble sharing a cell with Vera Scott-Bloxam, whose husband failed to organise travel documents.
"They were told by the head of an airline that the visas were under control," Slyne said. "He was quite adamant that he knew what he was doing even though they questioned him on a number of occasions."
Burke thought it had sounded right when William Scott-Bloxam had told her a visa could be organised on arrival. In Jakarta, and at Bali's international airport at Denpasar, it is possible to get a visa on arrival. However, the movement of people to and from Papua is heavily restricted by the Indonesian Government, which has been battling a low-level separatist movement.
"Karen … had the opportunity to go to Papua for $500 and she thought 'why not,"' Slyne said. "She faxed off her passport details to the pilot and when she got up there, she was thrown in jail.
"A lot of people have said to Karen 'you should write a book'. But she said 'I'd be so embarrassed admitting what I did. It was just stupid."'
Before leaving for Papua, William Scott-Bloxam contacted Tom Bolser, a pilot who is based in Merauke for the US group Mission Aviation Fellowship.
According to an MAF spokesman, the two did not know each other before the email contact.
Bolser answered some of Scott-Bloxam's questions but he claims that he assumed as an international pilot, the Australian would understand that he was required to submit a flight plan.
Slyne says the email from Bolser, which Karen Burke read after being arrested, was vague and said they "might" be able to get visas on arrival.
Repeated requests for an interview with the Scott-Bloxams, made via their lawyer, have been declined.
Most people on Thursday Island suspect sinister motives on the parts of Jakarta and Canberra, which they hold in almost equal suspicion, in allowing their neighbours such long sentences.
The feisty local newspaper, the Torres News, editorialised that the five's predicament "had nothing to do with visa offences, but is a diplomatic power dispute between a paranoid, oppressive Indonesian Government and successive, gutless Australian governments … The Indonesian Government … are clearly still sulking over the arrival of 43 West Papuans in Australia … and this is a typical tit-for-tat response."
It is a view that finds traction at the Torres Hotel, "Australia's top pub", where Burke used to pop in for a drink after riding her bike from work.
Scott-Bloxam is a controversial figure in the islands, where he stands out from others whose lives revolve around boats and friends by owning a lodge and car hire company in Cooktown and Cape Air Transport on Horn Island. He is described variously as "dry", "abrupt", "stingy", and "grumpy".
"Scotty is a person who hates officialdom - is that a word?" said Bob at the Wongai Hotel on Horn Island. "He believes Australians are overgoverned and he tries to cut corners, and that's what he's done and got these people into a bad situation. But what he's done doesn't deserve three years in jail."
Mortimer's black yacht is still moored off Thursday Island and locals like to point it out before recounting their friend's story. He reminds them of his fate by sending text messages.
"Morning guys," the latest one said. "Cell 12 by 6 … locked in … broken … 16 hours a day living on the floor … rotten shower and toilet … money can get you anything … lobby local member … all well."
Welcome to Indonesia - your jail cell awaits - World - smh.com.au
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Thank for your words NAMPS,,,,,,,,,my memory has been jogged about the character of the pilot in question here, and it all makes much more sense now.
Kinda feel sorry for his pax,,,,but then again, they should have smelt a rat.
Kinda feel sorry for his pax,,,,but then again, they should have smelt a rat.
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But Scott-Bloxam can be prickly about taking advice.
Scott-Bloxam was furious. "I've f------ been doing this all my life. Don't tell me I haven't got things organised," he reportedly said. That conversation is still hanging in the air over Timor Strait.
Scott-Bloxam is a controversial figure in the islands, where he stands out from others whose lives revolve around boats and friends by owning a lodge and car hire company in Cooktown and Cape Air Transport on Horn Island. He is described variously as "dry", "abrupt", "stingy", and "grumpy
Bugsmasherdriverandjediknite
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It was the very same day PNG Customs and Police were holding an "exercise" at Daru airport.
he was a nice guy too. we enjoyed a couple of SP's (supplied by me of course) while all the appropriate stamps were stomped, and then he asked if I could drop his kid of in Kerrima (SP?). I had room and obliged.
next morning the kid turned up with a bag of stuffs and away we went.
all in all, I received excellent service from both the police and customs...... he was a nice guy.
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Might be tit for tat...
34 Indonesian illegal fishermen jailed. 06/01/2006. ABC News Online
34 Indonesian illegal fishermen jailed
It seems that there seems to be some irritation among indonesian officials that traditional fisherman are supposed to steer clear of Australian economic zones using traditional methods, and are liable to be jailed if trespassing, whereas well-educated australians are expecting only administrative fines trespassing into Indonesia...
Pity the passengers, but they too should have known better.... As Indonesian, I inform myself before applying for a visa to a foreign country... I would never even entertain the possibility just fo fly into Darwin using a light airplane without visa and flight plan.
34 Indonesian illegal fishermen jailed
It seems that there seems to be some irritation among indonesian officials that traditional fisherman are supposed to steer clear of Australian economic zones using traditional methods, and are liable to be jailed if trespassing, whereas well-educated australians are expecting only administrative fines trespassing into Indonesia...
Pity the passengers, but they too should have known better.... As Indonesian, I inform myself before applying for a visa to a foreign country... I would never even entertain the possibility just fo fly into Darwin using a light airplane without visa and flight plan.
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Temporarily released
Jakarta Globe
Aussie ‘Illegals’ Out of Jail, Await Appeal
Five Australians jailed in Papua Province for entering the country illegally have been released from prison for “humanitarian reasons,” but remain banned from leaving the city of Merauke until their appeals against their convictions are heard.
Controversy surrounds the Merauke District Court’s jailing of pilot William Henry Scott-Bloxam, 62, for three years for landing in the region without the required documents. His passengers — his 54-year-old wife, Vera; Hubert Hufer, 57; Karen Burke, 51; and Keith Ronald Mortimer, 60 — were jailed for two years each.
“They have been in city detention since Friday,” said Efrem Fangohoy, a lawyer for the five.
Fangohoy confirmed that the Australians had requested release because “they are old and frequently sick.”
He also said that William and Vera’s son had died in Australia and the pair were in a state of shock.
“They are staying in a rented house in Merauke while waiting for the appeals process,” Fangohoy said.
In his appeal, Fangohoy argued that under immigration law, Vera Scott-Bloxam should not have been charged since she was acting as a flight attendant.
“We also want an expert witness to testify before the court,” he said.
Scott-Bloxam landed his plane at Merauke’s Mopah Airport on Sep. 12, 2008, thinking they could obtain visas on arrival. They were immediately detained for not having security clearance.
Prosecutors in Merauke District Court charged William Henry Scott-Bloxam with violating aviation law by flying to Indonesia without a permit. The other four were charged with violating immigration law for entering Indonesia without visas.
It was argued in court that the Australians were expecting to obtain visas on arrival, which are available at the country’s major international airports.
Aussie ‘Illegals’ Out of Jail, Await Appeal
Five Australians jailed in Papua Province for entering the country illegally have been released from prison for “humanitarian reasons,” but remain banned from leaving the city of Merauke until their appeals against their convictions are heard.
Controversy surrounds the Merauke District Court’s jailing of pilot William Henry Scott-Bloxam, 62, for three years for landing in the region without the required documents. His passengers — his 54-year-old wife, Vera; Hubert Hufer, 57; Karen Burke, 51; and Keith Ronald Mortimer, 60 — were jailed for two years each.
“They have been in city detention since Friday,” said Efrem Fangohoy, a lawyer for the five.
Fangohoy confirmed that the Australians had requested release because “they are old and frequently sick.”
He also said that William and Vera’s son had died in Australia and the pair were in a state of shock.
“They are staying in a rented house in Merauke while waiting for the appeals process,” Fangohoy said.
In his appeal, Fangohoy argued that under immigration law, Vera Scott-Bloxam should not have been charged since she was acting as a flight attendant.
“We also want an expert witness to testify before the court,” he said.
Scott-Bloxam landed his plane at Merauke’s Mopah Airport on Sep. 12, 2008, thinking they could obtain visas on arrival. They were immediately detained for not having security clearance.
Prosecutors in Merauke District Court charged William Henry Scott-Bloxam with violating aviation law by flying to Indonesia without a permit. The other four were charged with violating immigration law for entering Indonesia without visas.
It was argued in court that the Australians were expecting to obtain visas on arrival, which are available at the country’s major international airports.
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34 Indonesian illegal fishermen jailed
It seems that there seems to be some irritation among indonesian officials that traditional fisherman are supposed to steer clear of Australian economic zones using traditional methods, and are liable to be jailed if trespassing, whereas well-educated australians are expecting only administrative fines trespassing into Indonesia...
It seems that there seems to be some irritation among indonesian officials that traditional fisherman are supposed to steer clear of Australian economic zones using traditional methods, and are liable to be jailed if trespassing, whereas well-educated australians are expecting only administrative fines trespassing into Indonesia...
Australians detained over illegal flight into Papua | The Jakarta Post
I think they'll get out once the message gets out that flying into Papua without permission is not acceptable , he may get his plane confiscated though !
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I can't talk for all the indo boats coming in to oz waters but a while back I went out with aqis offshore to inspect a recently 'acquired' fishing boat that was found all the way down past Aurukun packed full of indo fishermen. The guy told me one of the first things confiscated was a gps. Probably not one of the 'traditional' navigation methods they'd want you to know about.
As for blox yes he should have done his paperwork but he certainly shouldn't be in jail.
As for blox yes he should have done his paperwork but he certainly shouldn't be in jail.
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As for blox yes he should have done his paperwork but he certainly shouldn't be in jail
However Indo is VERY sensitive about Papua , had he landed in Bali and not at a military airbase in Papua it would have been a different story.
Actually the fact he did land at an airbase actually helps show his naiveity , if it was a 'spy' flight he would have chosen a remote airfield somewhere.
I think the passengers should have been released immediately.
To put the shoe on the other foot though ... if an Indo registered aircraft had landed at Tindal airbase in NT without filing a flight plan what would happen ? Serious question , would the pilot be told he had made a mistake and be allowed to return to Indo straight away with his plane or would there be involvement from the Federal Police and intelligence services to at least check out that it was an innocent mistake as well as an administrative fine ? Could the aircraft be impounded under Australian law ?
I know of at least 1 light twin that was confiscated by Indonesia coming north from the Philipines with an American on board with no flight plan. I don't know if the guy was put in jail but he lost his plane.
Good argument for using a flight planning service like Jeppesen when transiting Indo airspace and landing at their airports.
TIFY ... thats Indonesia for ya ....
Last edited by aseanaero; 3rd Mar 2009 at 04:55.
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The guy told me one of the first things confiscated was a gps
I shared more than several coldies with Scotty in my time in the Straits. Wasn't too hard to find him..........just walk into the Wong and there he'd be, propping up the bar.
If that's true about their son dying, that would be an awful experience at the best of times, but not being able to attend the funeral etc. would be heart-breaking.
I do think it's harsh, but honestly, he should have known better.
"Dry", "abrupt", "stingy", and "grumpy" - yeah, he could be all those things, but I never experienced them first hand. (I didn't work for him however!)
I do believe that he's one of the few, perhaps the ONLY person on HID to ever get done for drink-driving............ twice
If that's true about their son dying, that would be an awful experience at the best of times, but not being able to attend the funeral etc. would be heart-breaking.
I do think it's harsh, but honestly, he should have known better.
"Dry", "abrupt", "stingy", and "grumpy" - yeah, he could be all those things, but I never experienced them first hand. (I didn't work for him however!)
I do believe that he's one of the few, perhaps the ONLY person on HID to ever get done for drink-driving............ twice
Jailed 'lost' Aussie tourists to come home | World News | News.com.au
Jailed 'lost' Aussie tourists to come home
From correspondents in Denpasar, Bali
AAP
March 05, 2009 10:47pm
Text size
+ - Print Email Share Add to MySpace Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Fark Post to Facebook Add to Kwoff What are these? AN Indonesian court has overturned the convictions of five Australians sentenced to prison for illegally entering West Papua in a light plane last year.
Pilot William Scott-Bloxam, 62, his wife Vera, 54, and their three friends Karen Burke, 51, Hubert Hofer, 57 and Keith Mortimer, 60, were expected to be deported within days following successful appeals, a spokesperson for the group said.
"The High Court of Jayapura has allowed our client's appeals and ordered them to leave Indonesia immediately,'' said spokesman Mohammad Rifan from Austrindo Law Office.
"We expect they will fly out in their plane once all the paperwork has been finalised, around the middle of next week.
"Our clients are very grateful for the support from the Australian embassy and Government.
"They are now pleased that this matter has been resolved and are looking forward to returning home to their families and resuming their lives.''
The Merauke District Court had jailed Bloxam for three years and fined him 50 million rupiah ($6,500) for flying a small plane into Indonesian airspace without permission on September 12 last year.
Each of his passengers was sentenced to two years jail and given a 25 million rupiah fine ($3250).
The five, who were initially suspected of being foreign spies, were released from a Merauke prison last week to await the outcome of their appeals, after their lawyers requested mercy from the courts.
They were being held under city detention.
As soon as the court paperwork was complete, they were expected to make the one-hour flight back to Horn Island in the Torres Strait, where they had embarked on their ill-fated joy-ride, Rifan said.
The group, from Cape York on Australia's northern tip, had described their trip as a sightseeing flight and mistakenly believed they could get visas on arrival in Papua.
There are strict restrictions placed on visiting Papua, which has been troubled by a low-level separatist insurgency since the 1960s.
Journalists are barred from entering the province without special permission, and human rights groups have accused the Indonesian military of widespread human rights abuses there.
Rifan said the High Court decision upheld the defence argument that the air traffic controller and immigration officers failed in their duties by firstly allowing the plane to land, and secondly allowing them to enter the region.
According to Indonesian law, the planes request for landing approval should have been denied and it should have been ordered out of Indonesian airspace, Rifan said.
From correspondents in Denpasar, Bali
AAP
March 05, 2009 10:47pm
Text size
+ - Print Email Share Add to MySpace Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Fark Post to Facebook Add to Kwoff What are these? AN Indonesian court has overturned the convictions of five Australians sentenced to prison for illegally entering West Papua in a light plane last year.
Pilot William Scott-Bloxam, 62, his wife Vera, 54, and their three friends Karen Burke, 51, Hubert Hofer, 57 and Keith Mortimer, 60, were expected to be deported within days following successful appeals, a spokesperson for the group said.
"The High Court of Jayapura has allowed our client's appeals and ordered them to leave Indonesia immediately,'' said spokesman Mohammad Rifan from Austrindo Law Office.
"We expect they will fly out in their plane once all the paperwork has been finalised, around the middle of next week.
"Our clients are very grateful for the support from the Australian embassy and Government.
"They are now pleased that this matter has been resolved and are looking forward to returning home to their families and resuming their lives.''
The Merauke District Court had jailed Bloxam for three years and fined him 50 million rupiah ($6,500) for flying a small plane into Indonesian airspace without permission on September 12 last year.
Each of his passengers was sentenced to two years jail and given a 25 million rupiah fine ($3250).
The five, who were initially suspected of being foreign spies, were released from a Merauke prison last week to await the outcome of their appeals, after their lawyers requested mercy from the courts.
They were being held under city detention.
As soon as the court paperwork was complete, they were expected to make the one-hour flight back to Horn Island in the Torres Strait, where they had embarked on their ill-fated joy-ride, Rifan said.
The group, from Cape York on Australia's northern tip, had described their trip as a sightseeing flight and mistakenly believed they could get visas on arrival in Papua.
There are strict restrictions placed on visiting Papua, which has been troubled by a low-level separatist insurgency since the 1960s.
Journalists are barred from entering the province without special permission, and human rights groups have accused the Indonesian military of widespread human rights abuses there.
Rifan said the High Court decision upheld the defence argument that the air traffic controller and immigration officers failed in their duties by firstly allowing the plane to land, and secondly allowing them to enter the region.
According to Indonesian law, the planes request for landing approval should have been denied and it should have been ordered out of Indonesian airspace, Rifan said.
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Rifan said the High Court decision upheld the defence argument that the air traffic controller and immigration officers failed in their duties by firstly allowing the plane to land, and secondly allowing them to enter the region.