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British journalists deported
Homeward bound: British journalists Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser walk out Batam Penitentiary in Riau Islands on Nov
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Homeward bound: British journalists Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser walk out Batam Penitentiary in Riau Islands on Nov. 5. They were released soon after being found guilty in the Batam District Court and sentenced to two months and 15 days in prison, most of which they had already served. (Antara/M. N Kanwa) (Antara/M. N Kanwa)
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span class="inline inline-center">Homeward bound: British journalists Neil Bonner and Rebecca Prosser walk out Batam Penitentiary in Riau Islands on Nov. 5. They were released soon after being found guilty in the Batam District Court and sentenced to two months and 15 days in prison, most of which they had already served. (Antara/M. N Kanwa)
British journalists Neil Bonner and Becky Prosser finally returned home to England early Wednesday morning after serving 72 days in prison before and after being found guilty of violating the Immigration Law.
They were sentenced last week to two months and 15 days in prison and a Rp 25 million fine each for making a documentary on piracy in the Malacca Strait while on tourist visas, instead of journalist visas.
Prosser's face was beaming with joy as she got out of the car that drove her and Bonner to Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam on Tuesday evening. They were escorted by two Immigration officials on to the last flight to Jakarta, at 7:20 p.m.
Their next plane, heading to Heathrow Airport in London, departed early morning on Wednesday from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
"I want to see my big family, my father and mother, and to get big hugs from them. I want to say sorry for [putting them] in a difficult situation," Prosser said.
The pair's ordeal began with their arrest in Batam by a Navy patrol in May.
Prosser and Bonner were working for London-based production company Wall to Wall while filmmaking in Batam.
Prosser said that the documentary that sent her to prison had been halted.
"We have separated with them [Wall to Wall] and the project has been stopped. I don't know what happens next," she said.
Meanwhile, Bonner regretted the guilty verdict the pair received, which could set a bad precedent for journalists.
He also recalled President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo promising open access for foreign journalists in Indonesia, especially in Papua. The real situation in the field is not yet in line with the President's promise as there are difficult processes that foreign journalists must follow.
Prosser and Bonner paid their own ticket home and even the costs of the security officers from Batam Immigration Office that escorted them from Batam to Jakarta.
They were both freed from Batam Penitentiary on Thursday afternoon but the Immigration office only allowed them to return back home on Tuesday.
The Immigration office also put the two filmmakers' names on the immigration blacklist, banning them from returning to Indonesia, possibly forever.
Rafli, an official at the Batam Immigration Office said Prosser and Bonner bore all their own and related costs as the state did not provide a budget for it.
"If they could not afford the cost, we would ask their country's representative office to pay it for them. But they could afford it themselves," he said.
Rafli said the officials escorted them to Jakarta as part of the deportation process. Even though Singapore is closer to Batam than Jakarta, the officials needed to make sure that the two journalists left Indonesia. (rin)
