[1][2] The Merauke Five consisted of middle-aged Queenslanders – pilot William Scott-Bloxam, his wife Vera and passengers Keith Mortimer, Hubert Hofer and Karen Burke.
When they arrived at the airport, however, they found their plane surrounded by Indonesian security, who had confiscated it on behalf of the prosecutors who lodged an appeal to overturn the High Court ruling.
Defence lawyer Mohammad Rifan told Australian Associated Press that under Indonesian law, the prosecutors were not permitted to appeal against a High Court decision.
But an Indonesian law expert in Australia said that while it is true the country does not allow appeal of absolute acquittals, they do allow it in other cases – such as, for example, if someone is acquitted because they were found to be under duress.
Lindsey noted, however, that Indonesian courts have been "quite inconsistent in how they interpret article '244', and have tended to read it in a way that will allow the appeal to go ahead".
[3] Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, indicated that at that point, he would not put pressure on the Indonesian Government to release the five.
[5] On Wednesday, Merauke District Court officials received from Jakarta the paperwork that enabled them to return the five Australians' passports and let the pilot, William Scott-Bloxam, fire up his twin-engined aircraft.
As immigration officials strode towards the Australians' light plane to hand over their stamped passports, an aggrieved prosecutor, Yafeth Bonai, emerged on the tarmac and intervened.
After phone calls were made to Jakarta, Mr Bonai finally conceded the travel ban had been rescinded.
[7] After their safe arrival home in late June 2009, the five, in front of news reporters, thanked all those who had a hand in their release, including the Australian Government.
They also made sure that they did not dump too heavily on the Indonesian authorities although they had strong suspicions that the case was driven by political motivation.
The statement also said that if people disobeyed foreign laws and ended up in court, the Government's ability to assist them would be very limited.