List of Australians imprisoned or executed abroad

This list of Australians imprisoned or executed abroad includes those cases where:

the person was arrested and charged with or convicted of notable crimes whilst abroad.
the person is an otherwise notable person in Australia.

China

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Cassandra Sainsbury	Adelaide, South Australia	Drug trafficking	11 April 2017	16 April 2020	Sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment. Paroled after 3 years; remained in Colombia for 23 months and deported.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Thomas McCosker	Warrnambool, Victoria	Sodomy	3 April 2005	28 August 2005	Sentenced to 2 years' jail for sodomy. Conviction overturned on constitutional grounds on 26 August 2005.

A prisoner exchange agreement is currently being negotiated between Australia and Indonesia.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Denis Michael Rohan	Sydney	Arson attack	23 August 1969	14 May 1974	Found to be insane, and hospitalised in a mental institution. Deported from Israel 14 May 1974, he was reported to have died in 1995 under psychiatric care, but later found alive and interviewed by the ABC in 2009, before eventually dying in 2013.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Tallaal Adrey	Auburn, New South Wales	Weapons possession Weapons trading Ammunition possession Ammunition trading	14 February 2005	2009	Sentenced to 4 years.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Kerry and Kay Danes	Brisbane, Queensland	Tax evasion Embezzlement Destruction of evidence	23 December 2000	6 October 2001	Sentenced to seven years prison each The Australian government intervened Provisionally released 6 October 2001 The Danes agreed to pay court-ordered $AUD1.1 million in fines and compensation in four equal instalments Presidential pardon 6 November 2001 Pardon absolved the Danes convictions Both returned to Australia free

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
John Short	Barmera, South Australia	Circulation of Christian literature at a Buddhist temple	16 February 2014	3 March 2014	Was originally arrested for missionary work in North Korea. He subsequently apologised on television. Released 3 March 2014 and was deported.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Peter Scully	Melbourne, Victoria	Human trafficking, rape, sexual abuse and torture of children	20 February 2015		Sentenced to life in prison in 2018, and received an additional 129 years for a second conviction in 2022.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Robert Page and nine others	Various – members of Z Special Unit	Perfidy and espionage	December 1944 – January 1945	Executed	Executed by beheading on 7 July 1945.
Van Tuong Nguyen	Melbourne, Victoria	Drug trafficking	12 December 2002	Executed	Executed by hanging on 2 December 2005.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Harry Harbord 'Breaker' Morant	Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia	War crimes	23 October 1901	Executed	Executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902.
Peter Handcock	New South Wales	War crimes	23 October 1901	Executed	Executed by firing squad on 27 February 1902.
George Witton	Victoria, Australia	War crimes	23 October 1901	11 August 1904	Sentenced to death by firing squad, which was commuted to life in prison. Released early due to public and political pressure in England and Australia.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Reg Spiers	Adelaide, South Australia	Drug trafficking	1 December 1984	1987	Sentenced to death, acquitted on appeal.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Warren Fellows	Sydney, New South Wales	Drug trafficking	11 October 1978	11 January 1990	Sentenced to life, received a pardon.
Paul Hayward	Sydney, New South Wales	Drug trafficking	11 October 1978	7 April 1989	Sentenced to 30 years, received a pardon.
Nola Blake	Botany, New South Wales	Drug trafficking	January 1987	March 1998	Originally sentenced to death, later commuted to life in prison. Received a Royal Pardon.
Holly Deane-Johns	Western Australia	Drug trafficking	August 2000	December 2012	Sentenced to 31 years. Transferred to Bandyup Women's Prison in Australia in late 2007.
Robert Halliwell	Sydney	Drug trafficking	August 2000		Arrested with Deane-Johns whilst attempting to post heroin to Australia. Police later found another 110 grams of heroin in Halliwell's apartment. Sentenced to life imprisonment.

A prisoner exchange agreement exists between Australia and Thailand allowing prisoner transfers.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Samandar Hout Kilani	Afghanistan / Australia	Robbery	July 2011	September 2013	3 year prison sentence in Dubai's Central Jail.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Rolf Harris	Bassendean, Western Australia	Indecent assault	August 2013	19 May 2017	Sentenced to 5 years and 9 months' imprisonment on 4 July 2014.
Julian Assange	Townsville, Queensland	Skipping bail	11 April 2019	26 June 2024	Sentenced to 50 weeks' imprisonment on 1 May 2019

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Jean-Philippe Wispelaere	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	Espionage	15 May 1999	2012	Former Defence Intelligence Organisation officer who sought to sell secrets to a foreign power.
Mamdouh Habib	Sydney, New South Wales	none	5 October 2001	28 January 2005	Arrested in 2001, Habib was interrogated by Pakistani and US CIA agents before being transferred to Egypt, then to a black site in Afghanistan, where he was further interrogated under torture. Transferred to Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2002. Released without charge in 2005.
David Hicks	Adelaide, South Australia	Unlawful combatant	November 2001	1 January 2008	Prisoner of the US Government held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on unlawful combatant charges. Returned to Australia on 20 May 2007 to serve the remaining nine months of his sentence in Yatala Labour Prison, Adelaide.
Russell Moore	Melbourne, Victoria	Murder Robbery Sexual assault	1988	Deceased	Sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in 1991 for the murder, robbery and sexual assault of Barbara Barber in Melbourne, Florida. Died in custody at the Apalachee Correctional Institution on 2 June 2021.

Prisoner	From	Convictions	Arrested	Release date	Notes
Phạm Trung Dũng	Vietnam / Australia	Drug trafficking	May 2013		Sentenced to death on 27 June 2014.