'That's 19 months of my life that I will never get back': relief and anger for six duped drug mules freed by Hong Kong judge
They are mothers, fathers, grandparents. Some are working professionals while others are retired. All are divorced, single or widowed.
For the two Australians who faced up to 26 years in a Hong Kong jail for drug trafficking, the nine-hour flight home to freedom is now a reality.
"You still get the feeling in your stomach that it's not real," Melbourne resident Jorg Ulitzka, who turned 80 last week, said last night.
As he celebrated his freedom - along with the five other defendants who were acquitted - with a glass of champagne, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"It's a ton of weight off my shoulders," the German-born Australian resident said.
Of the six released yesterday, Ulitzka, a retired draughtsman, was the oldest.
Each of the accused were arrested at Hong Kong International Airport after Customs officers found several kilos of crystal meth in their luggage.
The youngest defendant was a Vietnamese-Australian, Luu Suong Thu, 44, a mother of four children she hopes to see as soon as possible when she flies back to Australia.
For Brendan Toner from Northern Ireland, the acquittal was a bittersweet moment.
"In a way, it was even more of an ordeal being on bail because you're out but you're not free."
Dutch national Hendrikus Teutscher, 75, was glad the nightmare was over but also angry at a system in which innocent people had been jailed.
"This is very heavy for me. It will take time to lose that anger," he said.
