Bali Nine smugglers were lost in translation in Indonesian prison

Bali's Kerobokan prison, Indonesia

A friend of Bali Nine smuggler Myuran Sukumaran has revealed prison guards only spoke in Indonesian leaving inmates who did not speak the language not knowing their fate.

Ben Quilty, an artist and Archibald winner, spent time with the convicted drug smuggler in [Bali's infamous Kerobokan prison].

More than a year after Sukumaran faced the firing squad, Quilty has revealed his executed friend was aggrieved that non-Indonesian speaking prisoners had no idea what was going on.

'Myuran was very angry about this,' Quilty told News Corp.

'The guards spoke a bit of broken English but all of the directions were given in Indonesian, and they [prisoners] relied on those people having a translator.'

Quilty said Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, another executed member of the Bali Nine, became well respected because of the care they showed when new prisoners entered the formidable prison and became lost in translation.

'Myuran and Andrew were translating Indonesian into English to try to help them understand what was going on.'

Quilty was introduced to Sukumaran in 2012 after the imprisoned man expressed a desire to paint.

After visiting the jail when Sukumaran's lawyer contacted him and showed him his art studio, the pair struck up a friendship.

'Rest in peace Myu, with a brush in your hand my friend,' Quilty wrote in a Facebook post on the one-year anniversary of his death.

'One year today. Seems a little like it was all just a really bad dream, like when you're a kid with a temperature and the nightmares rollick through your tiny brain.

'Myu was the bravest man I've met. Next year you will prove again to the world the outcome of rehabilitation, the profound importance of forgiveness and compassion and most importantly of all the power of art.'

Sukumaran and Chan were were executed in April 2015 - 10 years after being found guilty of smuggling 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia.

Source: Mail Online, January 29, 2017

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