Indonesia releases Australian teen convicted of drug possession

Bali sentences teen for pot possession

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesia on Sunday released an Australian teen convicted of marijuana possession on the resort island of Bali after the boy spent two months in detention, a local prosecutor said.

The 14-year-old was sentenced in late November to two months for marijuana use in a case that has drawn international attention. The sentence included time already served, local prosecutors said.

He will leave Indonesia and will be blacklisted from re-entering the nation for six months, prosecutor Gusti Gede Putu Atmaja said.

After he has arrested in October, the teen was moved from a prison to an immigration center because the latter is more favorable for a teenager, the prosecutor said.

Authorities arrested him while he was on holiday with his parents in Bali.

After the arrest, the boy's attorney, Mohammad Rifan, said he had hoped to avoid a prison sentence and have him released to undergo drug rehabilitation.

Indonesia's drug laws are among the strictest in the world. But they have a provision, article 128, under which those arrested with small amounts of drugs can be released to rehabilitation if they can prove they are an addict. In the case of underage offenders, that requires a declaration from the youth's parents, officials have said.

Visitors to the country are warned on arrival that some drug crimes carry a maximum penalty of death.

Still, many have been arrested and convicted for various drug offenses. Two Australians are on death row in a Bali prison while six others are serving life sentences.

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