Australian gets 20 years for smuggling drugs into Indonesia

[totalmotorcycle]

Australian gets 20 years for smuggling drugs into Indonesia
Friday, May 27, 2005 - Associated Press




Jakarta — An Indonesian court on Friday convicted an Australian beauty school student of smuggling rx on Bali island and sentenced her to 20 years in prison, drawing cries of outrage from relatives at a trial that attracted massive attention in Australia.

Schapelle Corby, 27, who insists she is innocent and that the drugs were planted in her luggage, wept as the verdict was announced and mouthed “Just relax” to her parents. Her mother Rosleigh Rose yelled out “liar, liar” while other relatives yelled “We are going to get you home. We love you.”

“Judges are of the opinion that the accused imported rx,” Judge Wayan Suastrawan said. “She was arrested red-handed at the airport.”

After judges issued the sentence, Ms. Corby was allowed to hug her weeping parents before being led away by police to jail. Outside the courtroom, Ms. Corby's sister Mercedes said the family would appeal the verdict.

“This is not fair,” she yelled. “We will get Schapelle home.”

The court was packed with dozens of Australian journalists, Corby supporters and her relatives, including her mother and father.

Ms. Corby was convicted of smuggling 4.1 kilograms of rx into Bali's airport last year in her surfboard bag. Ms. Corby could have faced a maximum penalty of death, and prosecutors had requested a life sentence.

Ms. Corby's lawyers allege that the drugs were planted by airport baggage handlers in Australia as part of a drug smuggling operation and that they ended up in Bali by mistake.

Ahead of the court hearing, her lawyer said Ms. Corby was “terrified.”

“She's probably the worst I've ever seen her,” Ms. Corby's lawyer Robin Tampoe told Australian television's Nine Network.

“She tries to put on a brave face but there was a lot of crying, she's pretty well terrified about the worst case scenario, what might happen today, so it's very hard to console her in that sort of situation.”

Ms. Corby's plight attracted massive media attention in Australia, where opinion polls show that many people are convinced she is innocent.

The guilty verdict and lengthy sentence were likely to trigger anger in Australia and could complicate relations between the two Asian neighbours.

Ms. Corby's parents as well as several Australian tourists visited the jail Thursday to show their support and joined her on Friday to hear the verdict.

“She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like that. Why would anyone risk their life for $4,000 or $5,000?” said Ron Reilly, a tourist from the Australian town of Freemantle standing outside the courtroom. “I am convinced she is innocent. The more friendly faces she sees today will give her a boost.”

The Australian government asked prosecutors not to hand down the death sentence and said it wants to negotiate a deal with Jakarta to allow her to serve any prison sentence back home.

Jakarta says it does not want to sign an agreement that would apply only for Ms. Corby because that would set a precedent that it fears other countries might take advantage of.

Ms. Corby draws little sympathy in Indonesia, where the government is under pressure to crack down on illegal drug use. She is one of dozens of foreigners jailed in the country each year on drug charges.

[totalmotorcycle]

Quite an aweful tragety for a young foreigner to be serving 20 years in a prison so far away from all their friends and family. What is worse (from the story) is that it seems she is innocent.

Mike.

[totalmotorcycle]

UPDATE: -----------




Fury erupts at Corby jail term
Cindy Wockner in Denpasar, Bali
28may05 - heraldsun.news.com.au





SCHAPELLE Corby's face crumpled in anguish and her family screamed abuse yesterday as she was found guilty of drug smuggling and jailed for 20 years.

Pandemonium broke out in and around the Bali courtroom as the judges' verdict sank in.
Corby's parents and sister, in the front row, realised before she did what the lead judge was saying – and erupted in fury.

"You took the word of a liar . . . these judges will never sleep . . . Schapelle, you will come home.We will bring you home," her mother, Rosleigh Rose, screamed.

Outside, Indonesians applauded as Corby's sister, Mercedes, screamed at them to stop.

Caught in the middle was Corby, momentarily bewildered as she waited for her translator to tell her of her fate.

Minutes before, ordered to rise, she had stood trembling, clutching her translator's hand.

As the grim truth sank in, she looked around, mouthed "20 years," and bowed her head.

Then she desperately tried to calm her family.

"Mum, it's OK. Mum, it's OK. Mum, stop, OK?" she said, her hand outstretched to her mother.

But then she turned, legs shaking, to lash out at prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu. "Where is he?" she implored, referring to the person she blames for planting the drugs in her bag.

Her guards asked her to sit back down. "I don't want to sit down" she snapped tearfully, before hugging her translator.

Corby had spent most of her two hours in court glaring at Mr Wiswantanu, who in turn refused to look in her direction.

Afterward, he announced an appeal – prosecutors had recommended a life sentence.

Corby's lawyers also declared an appeal against the verdict and sentence.

In Australia, Prime Minister John Howard expressed sympathy for Corby and her family but called on Australians to respect the verdict.

"Guilty or innocent, I feel for this girl," he said.

But the Indonesian embassy in Canberra was bombarded with hate phone calls, and federal police upgraded security there and at Indonesian missions nationally.

And of millions who watched live TV coverage of the verdict, many were shocked and upset.

Some contrasted her punsishment with lesser penalties imposed on some of those convicted over the Bali bombing.

But the three judges in Bali saw it differently.

Chief judge Linton Sirait declared she had been "proved legally and convincingly guilty" of importing 4.1kg of rx last October 8.

"The panel of judges hereby declare there is justice in this country," he said.

"In looking at this case we are bringing down a decision freely, without pressure from any party.

"Having regard to the trial and the objectivity of the trial, equality before the law has been upheld."

As the three judges took turns reading their 79-page judgment, Corby, 27, appeared to pray.

They disregarded the evidence of defence witnesses, who had failed to provide any objective evidence for her story that the drugs were planted in her unlocked boogie board bag.

Victorian prisoner John Patrick Ford's claim that she was the victim of an international drugs syndicate could not be proved and was set aside.

"So the accused cannot avoid responsibility for the existence of the plastic bag containing rx in the accused's boogie board bag."

They said there was little reason for leniency, except Corby's youth and lack of criminal record.

Outside, about 20 of Corby's shocked family and supporters fought back tears as they insisted there had been a miscarriage of justice.

Her elder sister, Mercedes, was almost screaming as she called the verdict "unjust".

"Schapelle will be coming home soon," she said

"I don't even know we had a bloody trial – they didn't take any of our witnesses into account."

Corby's benefactor, Gold Coast mobile phone businessman Ron Bakir, declared the fight was nowhere near over.

"I will bring this girl home if it's the last thing I do. This is a massive injustice," an emotional Mr Bakir said. "What is the Australian Government going to do now?"

Late yesterday, Corby's lawyers visited her at Kerobokan jail. They said she was strong and had pledged: "This is not over yet. We will fight together."

Erwin Siregar said an appeal would be lodged next week with the Denpasar High Court.

The appeal process could take 18 months, meaning Corby would not be transferred to an Australian prison under any prisoner transfer agreement before 2007.

Mr Siregar said Corby was not angry and was coping. But he had a blunt reply for the prosecutor when told of the planned appeal against the sentence's leniency.

"Go to hell," he said.

[oldnslo]

Maybe George will invade and conquer Indonesia and rescue her.....

[MASHBY]

There is a petion to free her

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/corby

[totalmotorcycle]

There is a petion to free her

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/corby

I took the time to sign it with kind words and a gentle heart.

Mike.

[MASHBY]

Me too.

[9000white]

read the whole story where she tried to stop them from searching her bag.dont think you would notice an extra 9 pounds of weight in the bag??serves her right hope she does every day of that 20 years.if it was a nobody bum instead of some spoiled princess nobody would ever hear about it.

[totalmotorcycle]

read the whole story where she tried to stop them from searching her bag.dont think you would notice an extra 9 pounds of weight in the bag??serves her right hope she does every day of that 20 years.if it was a nobody bum instead of some spoiled princess nobody would ever hear about it.

I haven't found a story that mentioned that as of yet and I've read about 7 stories about this incident from news around the world. If you get a chance to find that story again, feel free to post it.

Mike.

[9000white]

yahoo news has many articles on this--that is where i read it.