Former Calgary teacher and Ontario man Neil Bantleman to be detained in Indonesia for another 40 days

Former Calgary teacher and Ontario man Neil Bantleman will have to wait a little while longer before he can be freed.

Friday, Bantleman’s family revealed Indonesian authorities have extended his detainment another 40 days.

“Information is just coming in, and we are talking with our solicitor and other officials and still trying to completely understand this development,” says his brother Guy in an email to 660News.

In an interview afterwards, he admits they’re dealing with a variety of emotions.

“They’ve had him in custody for 20 days, there’s nothing to find and we’re no further ahead in getting him released,” he says. “They’ve turned over their passports (Neil and Tracy). They’re not running from anything. They’re not hiding from anything.  There is no need to detain him.”

Tracy, who did have interviews scheduled Friday, has taken the day to herself to deal with the raw emotion she’s now facing.

Bantleman says he’s been overwhelmed by the amount of support his family has received from every corner of the world.

“It does kind of re-affirm your belief in the human spirit,” he explains. “That support is great; it’s the raw emotion of not making any progress…”

They’re still trying to figure out what’s next and will likely soon start asking supporters to ramp up their letter writing campaign.

He has yet to hear from any government officials, but adds Consular services have been in touch with Neil’s wife during every step of the process.

“How do you have a complaint against cleaning staff that progresses to complaints about school support staff, and you see the monetary amount grow ten times,” he says.

“Given everything that we know, we know there is no case and the prosecution is going to turn this back over to police,” says Bantleman, who believes infighting between the two law enforcement bodies in Jakarta will continue.

Questioning the transparency of the investigation, the Ontario businessman wants to know why the health tests or results of the polygraph haven’t been released.

Guy Bantleman is flying to Ottawa Tuesday for a meeting with Foreign Affairs officials.

He adds there will still be a lot of work once they get him released given the allegations that were levied against him.

660News did contact Foreign Affairs for a comment and hasn’t heard anything as of the publication of this article.

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UPDATE (8:45pm): 660News spoke with a senior government official who said, they remain committed to this case, while watching it very closely. The official says they’ve been in steady contact with consular officials.

In a written statement they say, “Canadian consular officials are providing assistance as required to a Canadian citizen who has been detained in Indonesia. Consular officials remain engaged with local authorities on this case. To protect the private and personal information of the individual concerned, further details on this case cannot be released.”

660 News has also learned Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will be in Indonesia this weekend on an unrelated matter.