“If they already accept, the transfers of the Bali Nine are just a matter of time. President Prabowo Subianto said to me if possible we can transfer them this December and, specifically, [he] said to me, if possible before Christmas.”

Australians Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephens and Si Yi Chen are serving life sentences after they were caught trying to smuggle more than eight kilograms of heroin out of Indonesia in 2005.

Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen died from cancer in 2018 and Renae Lawrence was released the same year.

Yusril on Tuesday said Indonesia was not demanding anything in return if the five men were moved to Australia. But on Thursday he said Indonesia might need to call in the favour “in the future”.

“If the Indonesian government asks the Australian government to repatriate Indonesian prisoners in Australia, they have an obligation to consider it,” he said, discussing the proposal.

This could pose political and diplomatic headaches for this or future governments if the Indonesians ever requested the return of a citizen whose crimes and transfer were unpalatable to Australian voters.

Yusril said last month that he knew some illegal Indonesian fishermen had previously been imprisoned in Australia and that he was asking for current figures.

This masthead asked the Australian Border Force for a number, if one existed, but was denied.

Veloso, a domestic servant from a poor family, has been a significant story in the Philippines and her plight has been met with prayer sessions and candlelight vigils.

She was caught at Indonesia’s Yogyakarta airport with 2.6 kilograms of heroin sewn into her luggage while on a holiday she said was paid for by the person who had promised her a job in Malaysia.

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Veloso and Filipino investigators say the drugs were hidden in the suitcase without her knowledge.

“We returned to our [Kuala Lumpur] hotel ... when we were inside the room I asked [Maria Cristina Sergio] why the bag was so heavy,” Veloso once wrote from prison.

“She said it was because it is brand new. I checked all the zipper and pockets of the bag. All were empty and I did not think that something was wrong with it.”

Her transfer will be a major political win for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, particularly the millions of citizens who work low paid jobs abroad and feel vulnerable to exploitation.

It was not clear whether Marcos would release her once she’s back in the Philippines.

Neither was it clear what Australia would do with the Bali Five. Yusril said Indonesia was not pardoning the prisoners, only transferring them, but he also acknowledged it was Australia’s right to do as it pleased once they had reached home shores.

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