Wanita Australia Bebas dari Penjara tapi Menolak Pulang ke Negaranya
Australian Woman Served Eight Month in an Indonesian Jail, but Doesn`t Want to Return Down Under
Editor : Cahyani Harzi
Translator : Dhelia Gani
SEORANG wanita Australia yang menjalani hukuman delapan bulan penjara di Indonesia untuk kasus narkoba mengaku bahagia telah bebas, tapi dia menolak kembali ke Australia.
Julie Anne Joseph ditangkap di pulau wisata Lombok tahun lalu setelah ia kedapatan membawa narkoba berupa sabu, tetapi kini dia mengaku gusar karena harus menjalani deportasi dari Indonesia yang dianggapnya sebagai tanah air 'kedua' bagi warga Australia ini, seperti dilansir MailOnline.
Polisi menangkap wanita berusia 32 tahun setelah ia terlibat kecelakaan lalu lintas saat mengendarai sepeda motor, polisi lalu curiga pada perilakunya. Polisi mendapati 1,72 gram sabu setelah menggeledah tas yang dibawanya.
Julie dibebaskan dari Penjara Mataram pada Kamis dan meskipun dia menutupi wajahnya dengan syal saat ia meninggalkan penjara dia tidak bisa menyembunyikan kegembiraan di wajahnya.
Ibu dari dua anak ini bersiap untuk dideportasi ke Australia, oleh pihak imigrasi.
Julie mengaku telah menganggap Bali sebagai 'rumah kedua', dan menyesalkan bahwa dia dilarang kembali ke Indonesia selama enam bulan ke depan, meskipun dia memiliki dua anak, berusia empat dan enam, telah kembali ke Australia.
'Rumah saya, pakaian saya, anjing peliharaan saya semua di Bali, "katanya.
"Tapi karena ini merupakan peraturan pemerintah Indonesia, saya harus menaatinya."
Kedua anaknya, menurut pengakuannya, telah mengunjunginya di penjara, bersama beberapa temannya. Joseph mengatakan ia berharap untuk kembali ke Indonesia suatu hari nanti.
Selama menjalani persidangan, Julie meminta maaf kepada pengadilan dan mengajukan permohonan keringanan hukuman kepada hakim dan jaksa demi dua anaknya yang masih kecil.
Namun jaksa mendakwanya dengan hukuman penjara maksimal empat tahun, meskipun menerima pengakuan terdakwa bahwa sabu tersebut digunakan untuk keperluan pribadi bukan untuk diperdagangkan.
Mantan sopir truk ini dijatuhi hukuman delapan bulan dan menerima segala dakwaan sebelum menjalani hukuman penjara.
Saat di persidangan, Julie mengaku bahwa ia sedang 'depresi' ketika menerima paket kecil shabu dari seorang pria yang baru saja dikenalnya di sebuah bar di kawasan wisata Senggigi.
Kepala keamanan penjara, Purniawal, mengatakan kepada wartawan bahwa selama di penjara, ia menguasai bahasa Indonesia, menghadiri kelas yoga dan rajin beribadah.
"Kami percaya bahwa dia akan terus berperilaku baik dan mudah-mudahan, hidupnya akan lebih baik dan tidak akan pernah lagi masuk penjara," katanya.
AN AUSTRALIAN woman who served eight months in an Indonesian jail for drug charges says she is happy to be free, but doesn't want to return Down Under.
Julie Anne Joseph was arrested on the holiday island of Lombok last year after she was found with crystal meth, but is now upset she is being deported from the country she has made her home.
Police assisted the 32-year-old after she was involved in a motorcycle accident, but grew suspicious of her behaviour. They found 1.72 grams of crystal meth when they searched her handbag.
The woman was released from Mataram Prison on Thursday and although she covered her face with a scarf as she left the premises she couldn't hide her joy.
The mother of two is now set to be deported back to Australia, after she was released into immigration custody where she will remain until she can present her passport.
Joseph says she considers Bali her home, and regrets that she is banned from returning to Indonesia for six months, despite the fact she has a two children, aged four and six, back home in Australia.
'My home, my clothes, my pet dog are all in Bali,' she said.
'But because this is an Indonesian government regulation, I'll just follow it.'
Her kids are said to have visited her in jail, along with some of her friends. Joseph said she hopes to return to Indonesia some day.
During her trial Joseph apologised to the court and pleaded for a short sentence for the sake of her two young children.
However prosecutors pushed for charges carrying a maximum sentence of four years, despite accepting that the meth was for the single mother's personal use.
The former truck driver was sentenced to eight month and given credit for time she had already served before the trial.
At her trial, the court heard Joseph was in 'a state of depression' when she accepted the small package of meth from a man she had just met in a bar in the tourist area of Senggigi.
The head of prison security, Purniawal, told reporters that while in prison, she had mastered the Indonesian language, attended yoga classes and Christian religious instruction.
'We believe that she will continue behaving well and hopefully, her life will improve and we will never meet again in prison,' he said.
