When the tragic news of the Bali Nine reached their ears, Mick Tsikas took the fateful action of pulling the trigger. This veteran Australian Associated Press photographer has dedicated years to documenting their story. He vividly recalls the moment when Andrew Chan received his sentence. As the judge pronounced 'mati', his interpreter leaned over and whispered 'death' into his ear, Tsikas recounts. Nearly 20 years later, as the federal government continued negotiations to bring the remaining imprisoned Australians back home, Tsikas had the opportunity to return to the work that earned him a Walkley award.

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The Bali Nine case erupted into the headlines in 2005 when Chan, Myuran Sukumaran, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, and Renae Lawrence were arrested after attempting to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia. The next day, Tsikas arrived in Denpasar and was confronted by signs at the airport emphasizing the severe punishment of drug trafficking - death.

The Initial Encounter

At the time, there was little sympathy for the young Australians. Many pointed to the consequences of drug addiction and believed they should take responsibility for their actions. Newspapers published letters claiming they deserved to die. Tsikas got his first glimpse of the nine at police headquarters and was shocked. "They were just kids," he says. "Obviously, they did something stupid, but they were in over their heads. They had no idea what was going to happen to them." Rush, only 19, was in a state of shock, disbelief, and devastation. When Tsikas showed up, he didn't know what to say. Tsikas put his camera down and shared a cigarette through the prison bars.

Photographing the Drama

Unlike in Australia where photographers are often excluded from courtrooms and holding cells, Indonesian authorities allowed Tsikas to get up close and personal with the smugglers. One judge even offered to move out of their line of sight to ensure a clear shot. He captured distraught families kissing their loved ones through bars, nervous eyes staring at the media, and faces contorting as fates were sealed. As photos gradually emerged from Denpasar, public opinion began to shift. It reached a turning point when it was revealed that the Australian federal police had tipped off Indonesian officials instead of trying to arrest the group upon their return to Australia.

The Sentencing and Aftermath

On 14 February 2006, convicted ringleaders Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death and led away in handcuffs. It was the last time Tsikas saw them alive. Over the following years, they tried to build new lives while their appeals and pleas were ignored. Sukumaran organized courses in various fields for detainees and became an artist, painting multiple self-portraits during his time in Kerobokan prison. Chan converted to Christianity and became a pastor, leading the prison's English language church service. Family, lawyers, and even prime minister Tony Abbott believed they had been rehabilitated. But almost a decade after their arrest, Indonesia's president Joko Widodo rejected their requests for clemency. On 29 April 2015, Chan and Sukumaran were executed by firing squad on Nusakambangan island. The next morning, Tsikas captured a forklift carrying one of their coffins at Jakarta airport. "I felt empty," he says. "After investing so much of myself and emotion into this story, it ended like this... it's state-sanctioned murder. That's vengeance, not justice." Lawrence had her sentence commuted in 2018 and was deported to Australia. Nguyen died in custody due to stomach cancer in May that year. The rest are still serving life sentences in various Indonesian prisons, hoping to one day return home. With the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, revealing on Tuesday that he had discussed a deal to repatriate the five men with Indonesia's minister for law, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, that could be finalized this month, their hope for a homecoming may finally be within reach. "They'll be happy to be home, but they've called Bali their home for 20 years," Tsikas says. "Michael Czugaj was 19; he's almost 40 now... he has spent more time in Indonesia than in Australia. It will be a bittersweet moment."