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The Frenchman Michaël Blanc (d) and his mother Hélène Le Touzey (g) were accompanied to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport by immigration agents on 21 July 2018. Handout / Immigration Agency Indonesia / AFP
After fourteen years in prison and four on parole, Michaël Blanc left Indonesia on Saturday, July 21st. The 45-year-old French, a former cook, was arrested in Bali in possession of drugs in 1999 before being heavily convicted.
For Michael White, Indonesia is definitely part of the past. The 45-year-old Frenchman was expelled from the country on Saturday, as stipulated by Indonesian law for all foreigners who have served their sentences. Accompanied by his mother Hélène Le Touzey, he left the country in the middle of the evening.
The mother and son were accompanied to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta Airport with immigration officers who ensured that the former cook could not communicate with the press. Both boarded a Turkish Airlines plane bound for Istanbul where they have to stop before taking another flight to France, where they will land on Sunday.
It was at another Indonesian airport, the Denpasar airport in Bali, that it all started in December 1999. At the age of 26, Michael Blanc was arrested with 3.8 kilos of hashish hidden in diving bottles. The chef from Haute-Savoie claimed that they had been entrusted by a friend to transport them. The argument did not convince the justice of the archipelago, whose legislation is among the most severe in the world in terms of narcotics.
Sentenced to life imprisonment, Michaël Blanc received a partial pardon in 2009 and his sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. He was released from prison in 2014 on parole, but was placed under judicial supervision with a ban on leaving Indonesia before 21 July 2018.
From the beginning of the case, his case was notably publicized in Thierry Ardisson's television programs. The French animator went so far as to organize a "Michaëlthon", a celebrity auction, to finance his support committee.