Dutch National Sentenced to 3 Years for Hydroponic Cannabis Cultivation in Bali

A panel of judges at the Denpasar District Court has sentenced Dutch citizen Nirul Rashim Abdoelrazak to three years in prison after he was found guilty of cultivating and possessing cannabis hydroponically in Denpasar, Bali.

Presiding judge Imam Lukmanul Hakim stated during the trial on Tuesday that the defendant was proven guilty of unlawfully planting, maintaining, possessing, storing, controlling, or supplying narcotics class I in plant form. The court ruled that the defendant violated Article 111 paragraph (2) of Law Number 35 of 2009 on Narcotics, in line with the alternative second charge presented by the public prosecutor.

In addition to the prison term, the defendant was also fined Rp510 million, with a subsidiary sentence of 141 days imprisonment. The defendant’s health condition was cited as a mitigating factor, resulting in a sentence considerably lower than the nine years originally demanded by prosecutors.

Following the verdict, public prosecutor I Made Lovi Pusnawan indicated he would consider his next steps, while the defendant and his legal counsel accepted the ruling. Before leaving the courtroom, the defendant requested the return of his mobile phone, which contained stored musical scores. The judge advised him to coordinate with the prosecutor regarding the evidence, as its handling falls under the prosecutor’s authority after the verdict is read.

According to the prosecutor’s indictment, the defendant cultivated cannabis hydroponically at a house on Jalan Bina Kusuma IV, Banjar Merta Gangga, Ubung Kaja, North Denpasar. The defendant and his wife, Kseniia Varlamuva, had been residing at the property and began preparing facilities for cannabis cultivation around March 2025. The defendant planted cannabis seeds and tended them until they grew and produced leaves and flowers, which were then stored on the premises. The case came to light on 1 October 2025 when Bali Regional Police officers arrested the defendant at the house and discovered evidence related to the narcotics cultivation.