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WATCH: A Canadian man is back behind bars in Indonesia for sex crimes against minors. But experts question what - if any - evidence exists against Neil Bantleman, and the Canadian government is now condemning the court's decision. Mike Drolet reports – Feb 25, 2016
Canadian school teacher Neil Bantleman has had his acquittal overturned by Indonesia’s supreme court, Global News has learned.
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Bantleman and an Indonesian teacher had been acquitted of sexually abusing students at an international school in Jakarta after having been convicted in a case that has had many twists and turns.
Speaking by phone from Burlington, Ontario, Bantleman’s brother Guy confirmed the court overturned the acquittal and that the news came as a blow when he heard it Tuesday night.
“It was [a] shock – we were fairly confident that we were going to see the decision upheld and Neil returned to Canada.”
WATCH: Guy Bantleman calls on government to help bring his brother home
“We’re not sure how in-depth or what sort of review went through with the file,” Guy said. “Today we’ve been spending trying to figure out next steps in terms of Neil turning himself over to authorities again and where we go from here.”
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, left, stands inside a holding cell while his wife Tracy talks to journalists after his trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 2, 2015. An Indonesian court has sentenced Bantleman to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious international school.
AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, receives a mobile phone from his wife Tracy as Indonesia teaching assistant Ferdinant Tjiong, left, looks on prior to the start of their trial hearing to listen to the prosecutor's demand at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, March 12, 2015. Bantleman and Tjiong were on trial on accusation of sexually abusing a kindergartner on the campus of a prestigious international school in the capital.
AP Photo/Dita Alangkara
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, center, hugged by his wife Tracy, after his trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 2, 2015. An Indonesian court has sentenced Bantleman to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious international school.
AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, kisses his wife Tracy prior to the start of his trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 2, 2015. An Indonesian court has sentenced Bantleman to 10 years in jail for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious international school.
AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman reacts during his verdict trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, April 2, 2015. Bantleman, serving time in an Indonesian prison on child-abuse convictions, says the federal government has done little to protect him from what he calls an abuse of his human rights.
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman sits on the defendant's chair prior to the start of his trial hearing at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 2, 2014. Bantleman's family says the country's prosecutor's office has filed an appeal to the August ruling the resulted in his release.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Tatan Syuflana
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FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 14, 2015 file photo, Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, hugs his wife Tracy, left, after he was released from Cipinang prison in Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia top court has overruled the acquittal of Bantleman and his Indonesian colleague Ferdinant Tjiong and heightened their sentence to 11 years in jail for sexually abusing three young children at a prestigious international school in Jakarta.
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, hugs his wife Tracy, left, after he was released from Cipinang prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday,Aug.14, 2015. A Canadian teacher and an Indonesian teaching assistant serving 10 years in an Indonesian prison for child sexual offenses were released Friday after a court overturned their convictions.
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, hugs his wife Tracy, left, after he was released from Cipinang prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday,Aug.14.
Achmad Ibrahim/AP Photo
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman, right, kisses his wife Tracy, left, after he was released from Cipinang prison in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Aug. 14, 2015. A Canadian teacher and an Indonesian teaching assistant serving 10 years in an Indonesian prison for child sexual offenses were released Friday after a court overturned their convictions.
AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim
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Canadian teacher Neil Bantleman (2nd R) and Indonesian teaching assistant Ferdinand Tjiong (2nd L) arrive at the South Jakarta court in Jakarta on December 2, 2014. Bantleman, who worked at the prestigious Jakarta International School (JIS), was arrested in July along with a teaching assistant during a police investigation into the alleged sexual assault of three kindergarten students. Bantleman and co-accused Ferdinand Tjiong, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images
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Neil Bantleman.
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Bantleman and Ferdi Tjiong had been sentenced to 10 years last April by the South Jakarta District Court. But they maintained innocence and filed appeals to the High Court, which acquitted them in August.
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Supreme Court spokesman Suhadi said Thursday a three-member judge panel handed down a verdict Wednesday based on the prosecutors’ appeal and increased their sentence to 11 years.
The two teachers also were ordered to pay a $7,440 fine each or to serve six more months in jail.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion released a statement early Thursday morning calling the ruling appalling.
WATCH: Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion says Neil Bantleman’s story isn’t over
“The Government of Canada is deeply dismayed and shocked that the Supreme Court of Indonesia has overturned the Jakarta High Court’s acquittal of Neil Bantleman and his Indonesian co-accused, Ferdi Tjiong, based on lack of evidence,” Dion said.
“This decision is unjust, given the many grave irregularities throughout the various proceedings in this case and the fact that all evidence presented by the defence has systematically been rejected.”
Dion also said the decision could hurt future relations between the two countries.
“Despite Canada’s repeated calls for due process, this case was not handled in a fair and transparent manner,” said Dion.
“The outcome of this case has serious implications for Indonesia’s reputation as a safe place for Canadians to work, travel and invest as well as for Canada’s long history of cooperation with Indonesia.”
The foreign affairs minister said Bantleman will continue to receive consular assistance as the case proceeds.