Indonesia evacuates foreigners, women from Bali jail

DENPASAR—Indonesian authorities on Thursday began evacuating foreigners and women from a jail on the resort island of Bali after rioting inmates retook control triggering a tense stand-off.

The first inmates boarded a bus outside the prison’s main entrance, where truckloads of police in full riot gear had earlier arrived to bolster hundreds of security forces outside the notorious Kerobokan prison.

Four Western men drove away on one of the buses, followed by nine women — including Westerners and Asians — on a second bus.

“We are starting the evacuation process now,” said Bali police spokesman Hariadi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.

“We will try to evacuate all foreign prisoners by today,” he told Agence France-Presse. “They will be transferred to several locations set up by the justice and human-rights ministry,” he added.

Heavily armed police and military had stormed the overcrowded jail at dawn on Wednesday to wrest control after a night of arson and stone-throwing, only to have the inmates take over against late that night.

Provincial military command spokesman Wing Handoko had earlier told AFP that authorities would evacuate the 60 foreigners and 125 women from the jail, fearing for their safety.

“We will not storm the prison before they are removed as we fear that their lives will be put at risk,” Handoko said.

“There is a big possibility that the foreign inmates could be used by the rioting inmates as bargaining chips to press for their demands.”

Kerobokan prison chief Bowo Nariwono said that authorities were negotiating with prisoners to try to end their occupation of the facility, which houses 1,015 inmates — more than three times its intended capacity.

The foreign inmates include 12 convicted Australian drug traffickers, including Schapelle Corby and a group known as the “Bali Nine”, who were caught attempting to smuggle drugs from the resort island.

The rioters have demanded that three inmates injured in the first night of violence and taken to hospital be returned to the prison, fearing they were being mistreated, but authorities said they would not be pressured into giving in to their demands.

Officials and media reports said the trouble began after one of the inmates was stabbed on Sunday, triggering reprisals among prisoners that spun out of control and forced the guards to abandon the facility.

Prison worker Aryawan said it was the worst riot he had seen in five years working at the prison, which is notorious for violence, and located just a few kilometers (miles) from the tourist beaches of Kuta.

“Prison staff are afraid to enter because we are worried that a bigger riot will erupt,” said Aryawan, a receptionist who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.

Handoko said that security forces had been firing off volleys into the air all through the night to make sure the prisoners did not attempt to escape. With the jail sealed off, it was not clear if there were any casualties.

“We’re fine, we’re fine but there’s no food,” an inmate shouted to a passing reporter from a guard tower mounted on a corner prison wall, as five other shirtless and tattooed prisoners flashed “thumbs-up” signs.

Kerobokan is one of Indonesia’s most notorious prisons, with a volatile mix of inmates including convicted murderers, sex offenders and others guilty of violent crimes.

There have been a number of riots there in recent years, including one triggered by a police drug raid in June.

Australia’s foreign ministry said that all 12 Australian prisoners at Kerobokan, including two on death row and six serving life sentences, were accounted for.

“Consular staff in Bali have spoken individually to Australian prisoners in Kerobokan and confirmed they remain safe,” the Australian Associated Press quoted a spokesperson as saying.

They added that the prisoners would be moved to another facility at Klungkung, about 70 kilometers from Kerobokan.