When the verdict was delivered Schapelle was told to stand and it was translated to her. Schapelle turned to her female translator and reacted in horror. I looked at the young female prosecutor, who had her hands over her mouth. Maybe she sensed the impact a 20 year prison sentence would have on another woman of similar age. As the verdict was delivered I heard some whooping and screaming from the back of the court and shouts of, “She is innocent, let her go home.” A brief moment of chaos reigned as people scuffled at the back. I could not understand what the judge was saying and asked someone else what the actual sentence was.
Soon after the sentence was read, the Keystone Cops assembled outside right next to where I was standing and formed a corridor for Schapelle to pass. Again chaos reigned with Australian women screaming. One shouted, “Stop bloody pushing you animals, bloody idiots.” The cops were linking arms and shoving people out of the way. Schapelle was led out past me to a waiting police vehicle out front, a stout policeman holding her by the arm and a posse of other police around her. This group was followed by the press corps with cameras held high and microphones on poles. One young Australian news cameraman was lying on the floor dazed and scratched, as he and a small tree were knocked over by the stampede.
On her way out various elements of the Corby supporters club screamed insults and proclamations that she is innocent. One Corby supporter read a pre-written message that said this was a travesty and Schapelle should be released. I saw a group of media hounds circling Schapelle’s sister, Mercedes. She read a message in Indonesian and screamed at the media when they asked for a translation. I must say the Corby clan carry with them the same degree of class as the Jerry Springer Show, and there was a circus-like atmosphere outside the court waiting for the next outburst. I saw Ron Bakir, Schapelle’s financial backer talking to the cameras and head off, still followed by them.
Wondering what people’s reaction was to the verdict I asked the young Australians who were next to me at the court window. They told me that 20 years was a sentence that was expected. Outside, close to the street large groups of police gathered and chatted amongst themselves. A lady from Ireland said “No comment,” when I asked her opinion of the verdict and sentence. Then she said, “I think she is guilty, although all of Australia thinks she is innocent.” Talking to a gentleman from Australian TV and his older Australian friend, they both agreed Schapelle is guilty and thought 20 years was a fair sentence. So I guess it depends on who you ask.
My feelings towards Schapelle while watching through the window were that I see someone suffering. Whether she knew about the drugs or not, I think it’s true to say she will never be caught doing the same again. I respect Indonesian law but at the same time do not see the point in locking her up for 20 years. The likely scenario is that after exhausting appeals Schapelle will be sent to Australia to serve her sentence.
Stepping out of the court compound onto the busy street I quickly caught a Bluebird taxi and sped off. How different my afternoon would be to Schapelle’s, I thought. At that moment in time my freedom seemed a gift, I could go where I wanted. Arriving at my house in Seminyak I asked Ika if she wanted to cool down in a swimming pool. The Cin Cin restaurant on Jl. Dhyana Pura has a nice pool and now that Ika is almost 8 months pregnant she gets hot. While Ika swam I typed this article, checked my photos and thought about the whole situation. Schapelle is young and cute, that is what saved her. If anyone else was caught in her situation they would probably do what they have always done, lock the door and throw away the key. Hopefully people will think twice before messing with drugs overseas from now on.
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G’Day Nick,
As I mentioned, I watched the whole live broadcast on the box. When the head judge ordered Corby’s lawyer to remove the microphone - which was the sound link translation to the outside world - I knew then that things weren’t going to be rosy.
The Appeals have been put forward apparently - the Prosecution wanting a ‘life’ sentence and the Defence wanting the term reduced or squashed.
I am no lawyer or expert on Indo law, but, if I were Corby’s lawyers then I wouldn’t appeal as there is a chance her sentence could be lengthened. Better to just sit and wait and see if the prisoner exchange goes ahead. Hey, that’s only my opinion and I would be interested in other people’s opinions on this. How about it folks - what do you think Corby should do?.
On a much prettier note, Ika is absolutely glowing mate!.
Hi, Nick. This is a very sad and dramatic story, like that of Michael’s, the french guy, and his mother. I read all about them.
Bali is a paradise but can become hell just in a sudden.
How long until the made for TV movie?
Strike while the iron’s hot. Out before Christmas most likely.
Britney Spears to play the crazy sister Mercedes, Samuel L. Jackson as the judge, Ben Stiller as financier Ron Bakir and J-Lo to play Corby herself (Ben Affleck written into the script as the young stud who shares the cell next to her).
Great reporting Nick. I read a book about the Kerobokan prison and it suggested that Indonesia has a 100% conviction rate. Anything to suggest otherwise?
All I can say is I will never, ever go to Bali. Between the bombings and this, I can’t imagine why any Westerner would!
I see you delete comments you don’t like. I’m not surprised.
I’m still never coming to Bali - and I still see why any Westerner would.
As a Canadian, and as lawyer with mostly international clients, I am OUTRAGED. I travel to south-east asia regularly as a part of my immigration law practice. I was in Jakarta and Bali last October as part of a month long trip. I will not go back to Indonesia again because of this. As a young professional with my whole life and career ahead of me, it just isn’t worth the risk.
My trip to Bali was my first. The locals consistenly voiced their concerns about Bali’s weak economy that suffered immeasurably by the night-club bombing some years back. In October, while I was told that the situation was still dire, there was hope that tourists would come back and the economy would recover. Now, I’m afraid, there is no hope. Why choose Bali and face risk of persecution when there are other less risky options?
It does seem odd that she would be bringing drugs IN to Bali as opposed to out. But Oz hydroponics are apparently much superior to the local stuff and consequently in demand; there is a reasonable explanation as to motive. She had been to Bali several times before and thus could have known this.
Under the circumstances I don’t see what other conclusion an Indonesian–or any–court could have arrived at.
Yep, Nick deletes items that don’t seem to fit into his world view. Too bad, Nick. Seems to me certain regimes whose decisions you don’t like do the same thing.
So, dear and temporary readers, be warned–this isn’t an honest blog.
The system of justice in Bali is a total, absolute joke, and this is just more proof. 20 years for pot? and none in her system ? The notion that she could have recieved the death penalty for this is completely and utterly outragous.
My wife and I enjoyed Bali tremendously when we’ve been there (and when we come we spend a few months). We will not be back. To many other places
worth visiting, with none of this crap. We will urge our friends and families to do the same.
David Eye
Fort Collins Colorado USA
I think this is a good lesson for all the Australians. They are worst of the discriminatory type, has no respect for others and think they can do whatever they want. I guess this is part of their heredity.
I think there is no doubt she is guilty and chances are she is part of a larger group of junkies. It is no secret lot of young people in Australia smoke a lot of drugs and they are commonly available in the streets.
What made all the Australians think they can just immediately claim her innocence? Would they do the same thing if it was an Indonesian or someone from a pooper country who was caught in Australia??? Have you people ever spent five minutes to find out how much discriminatory and racist decisions are taken in Australia and how many poor innocent people are made to suffer?
I think Indonesia has made a good point by doing this and judging her guilty and sentencing her. She should’ve got the death penalty.
This is an honest blog. Comments are not deleted.
poor poor shappelle. poor balinese. yes they will be poor and starving if the narrowmindedness continuse.
is shappelle innocent or guilty i dont know.
but the people of bali are innocent also. they will suffer because we decided not to go to bali. I am returning to Bali in 3 weeks for a 2 week holiday and may even extend.
to all the people cancelling there holiday to bali. I suppose you will not visit tibet because of the chinese invasion, malaysia because they hung 2 aussies many years ago, myanmar because of the political situation,
poor poor shappelle. poor balinese. yes they will be poor and starving if the narrowmindedness continuse.
is shappelle innocent or guilty i dont know.
but the people of bali are innocent also. they will suffer because we decided not to go to bali. I am returning to Bali in 3 weeks for a 2 week holiday and may even extend.
to all the people cancelling there holiday to bali. I suppose you will not visit tibet because of the chinese invasion, malaysia because they hung 2 aussies many years ago, myanmar because of the political situation,
Sam; How do you know she is guilty ? you seemed to have convinced yourself, why was no marijuana found in her system ? sounds like plenty to doubt
about this case.
Seems you are making the same error in pre-judgement as those Australians who automatically proclaim her innocence. You are clearly as biased as they are,..Also how do you know she is part of a larger group of “junkies” , she is accused of pot, not heroin ???? And you are further wrong in your assumption that an Indonesian caught in Aus. they would be treated the same or worse; Australia at least is at least a civilized country with fair penalties. Even if she is guilty
the penalty is far too severe, particularly a first time offense.
BTW; What about all the pot dealers in Kuta, many from Sumatra when I was there last in 2001 ?
Why not just convict / shoot them all ?? Contrary to your opinion, Indonesia has made a bad point by doing this and they will suffer for it.
DE
And throughout all of this, and for some time, and continuing into the future, Australia still pumps millions of dollars through aid into Indonesia for legal and judicial reform related activities. Amusing if it was not so bloody tragic.
The Balanese will sell Schappelle back to Australia for some foreign aid, favorable terms in some sort of international treaty, and other concessions. In a year or two she will be home with her family, all will be forgotten, and we will travel to Bali for fun…until they “kidnap” another Westerner to save their shitty economy.
Why would any Westerner want to consider going to this Country , when this could happen to any Innocent person?
I will never ever give 1 cent of a donation to any Charity , if i know it is going to end up in this place . Unfortunately for the Innocent people of Indonesia who need aid , they will suffer because of decisions like the Corby case
Bali had been on our short list for not only vacations, but investment in real estate and possible retirement.
We have friend there who bought years ago who loved the country and the people and advocated joining them in our future plans.
I have had personal experience with perjury by police officers and wrongful prosecution based on perjury. In America, with the resumption of innocence, there was no method of convicting me. but the pain of the false accusation will likve me for the rests of my life and the fact that cops could commit crime against me, conspire and then lie to cover it up, and not even face a chance of proseuction for THEIR crimes, burns me to this day and likely until by death.
However, noting the justice system in Bali as one that declares guilt unless YOU prove SOMEONE ELSE guilty, I could only conclude that this is a country that we will never visit, never advocate that anyone or company with whom we do business invest, and hope, that, through sending “the message of the pocketbook” that this corrupt, in-justice, vicious regime steps down. I pray that we have the power to affect this government in the only legal way that we reasonably can, by not supporting them.
In otherwords, guilty of not, the failure to manage the evidence properly, and consider resonable doubt, would have prevented this [the coviction of Corby] in a CIVILIZED country. America’s invasion of another country based on false or constructed evidence is surely a high crime against humanity. However, we are stuck here, andour justice system does presume innocence, which is a huge point in this. Bali, based on its judicial system, could, as such, be viewed as UNCIVILIZED. Therefore,we prefer not to participate in their economy and risk life and safety by personaly visiting. There are CIVILIZED places where you do not have to worry about THIS crime being meted upon you.
( and yes, I agree, people should speak out about the unfair incarceration without trial by America at Gitmo etc.)
There are some many places on this planet to visit and experience and invest in. Bali and Indonesia do not have to be one on the short list. They are misguided and ruled by a corrupt force that seems to allow the possession of a plant to be a cause for murder. How out of step is that? Possess a plant, KILL the holoder? Dissolve that justice system instead.
in Balie, terrorism with a justification seems to be OK, and religious leaders can foment murder in Bali and have a minor sentence levied for their crime against humanity. But possess a plant for sale, or have plant matter in our effects of which you were unaware as the case may be, and you are subject to the end of your life as you knew it.
Bali is no longer worth a visit except if you are involved in helping free this women and your pressence is required, or acting towards the dissasembly of their failed justice sytem.
Beware.
With a heavy heart I have followed this case, and now written off a place I had previously thought I may reitre to and invest in.
I ask other to consider carefully any furtgher involvement in this nation.
Bennett
I believe Shapelle Corby is innocent,she didn,t recieve a fair trial,in fact she would have been aquitted in Australia ,I will not accept the guilty verdict and because of this injustice will never visit Indonesia
I have no idea if tis woman is guilty or not, but blaming Bali for the actions of the Indonesian government seems absurd to me (I’m American, and certainly don’t consider myself responsible for the actions of MY government!)
Bali is as cizilized as it CAN be, given that it’s ruled by the corrupt Indonesian government.
People blame America all of the time for the actions of our President. Guilty or not is not the point. The justice system is one of presumed guilt, like what we do with suspected terrorists at Gitmo. Further, punishment should be accord with the crime. This is about 4k of refined planted material. She did blow up a night club or poison an ocean with Mercury knowingly.
Boycots are an effective tool as have been labor strikes on occassion to chance injustices. We have to do what we can to stop the madness.
Guys,
I actually don’t delete replies by other people, I like fierce discussion. The only occasion I might do that is if someone is attacking another person without giving a point of view.
The last time I looked at this forum was after I posted the article at this time.
Posted by: Nick on May 27, 2005 11:32 PM
As you see I went to bed around midnight. Anything after that I have no knowledge of. Our system does occassionally have hiccups.
how sad this is… all inclusive of the convulted writing and thinking of nick.. you should work for bush.
not enough evidence & 20 yrs for grass??? what a joke. u are so not getting a penny from me nor the 1000 professionals (film that is) in my database.
i was traveling there is fall… hawaii instead 
oh well. give her back … duh!
I always thought if your found guilty then your guilty , but this ones a weird one.
I still dont get it, why havnt they found any footage on her going to the airport when she left.There’s security cameras everywhere, surely they could find some thing in them to find the truth.It seems Corby’s lawyers didn’t try hard enough so maybe she is guilty.
Anyway for the people who aren’t travelling to bali any more, its a shame,just remember bad shit happens everywhere dont let it stop you doing the things you enjoy and remember the awsome balinese people that will loose out.
Im going to Bali in August for a week cant wait.
Blacky
Regardless of whether she is innocent or guilty I am insulted that Politicians say we should respect the Indonesian law system.
It is 100% corrupt as every institution is in Indonesia. Why do our politicians still treat Indonesia as a real country rather than the parastic state that it really is.
The thousands of chines raped in 96, the dead in Timor and the missing Tsunami money….all these things happened with no redress.
Now they tell us we should respect them?
Nah I only give them the respect they deserve…NOWT!!
Joe,
Thank you for your comment. If that’s the way you feel I thank you for sharing it.
Before you cross Bali off of your agenda because of ‘20 years for grass’, let me remind you of the hundreds of people in jail in the US, doing 20 years to life for drugs. Want to hear a joke? Its called the King-pin law. Under this law a person can be convicted of beingthe king-pin of a group if the others all testify against him (the others all recieving little or no sentence).
This is so open to abuse its incredible. I saw a news item where a young black kid wa doing in jail for life with no possibility of parole because he ‘talked about’ drug dealing with some other people. They were caught at a later date doing something else and pointed him out as the king-pin.
Did you also know that you can get a sentence of a friend or relative reduced by giving evidence against someone else? This is actually the case! I watched a 50 year old dad trying to trap local drug dealers so his son could get a lighter sentence for something else.
There are hundreds of young Americans in jail for 20 years + for LSD possession, don’t tell me their lives haven’t been ruined.
There are plenty of examples of harsh justice all around the world. Here in Indonesia the writing is written on the wall in bigger letters.
It amuses me to see all comments state that youre going to boycott BALI,
You will all forget very soon, people have very short memories, shapelle will dissappear, she will be off the radar.
The housing commission centrelink dole bludgers cannot resist going to bali, as soon as the airline offers you$5 off the airfare, you will be back in droves,
Plus why do you want to punish the local street vendor in DPS, they had nothing to do with this.
well they seem to be pigs rather than human beings in bali.
we must convince as many others as we can, not to go to that backward and primative place.
it’s amazing how uneducated the whole country is.
as well as what passes loosely for a stinking judge.
i hope they lose billions in tourist trade. as i’m sure they will with the help of the internet.
boycott bali they’re the real terrorists. let our schpelle go
Daniel AUST
you call the balinese PIGS, what a joke, what about that trailer trash of family that she comes from, pure tornado bait they are!
screaming and carrying on, who is uncivilised there!!!!!
look at the family that poor girl comes from, she never had a chance, a bushpig mother, drugged yobbo father, half islander half who knows what, no no no , they are all scum leave them in BALI,
Hello,
First, my apologies for the deletion comment. My comment disappeared for a while and I assumed it was deleted, based on an earlier posting noting the same thing. Now I see it’s back, so you are right, must be hiccups.
My, what a mix of comments we have here.
Readers, first, it’s important to keep in mind that Asian criminal justice systems tend to be results oriented. It’s not the same as a presumption of guilt, but close–the presumption is, “you have become involved in the system, so you must have done something wrong, or else you wouldn’t be involved in the system”.
Read the judgment (it’s on the Save a Life site). The judge repeatedly writes “It is true that…” (meaning it is a fact that) the drugs were found in her bag, and there was no factual basis to counter the logical explanation, i.e., they were hers. What else could the judge do? Is it unreasonable for him to think that any person in her position would do anything else but try to avoid punishment by coming up with alternative explanations that cannot be proved?
To all of you who write “don’t go to Bali”, well, if you enter any country with 9 pounds of pot in your bag, regardless of whether you put it there yourself or not, you are going to find yourself in big trouble. It seems to me that, if she is to be believed, it is Australia we should be avoiding, as she was a victim of baggage handlers there. So any travellers in Australia going anywhere face the same risk!
My advice, then is this: first, pack your own bags and keep them in sight. And, if you really want to proceed with an abundance of caution, lock them up in front of the check in counter, and add plastic lock strips to the bags (these can’t be tampered with–you have to cut them to open them). Make sure the person at the check in counter sees you. Then, when you collect your bag at the other end, look at it carefully first to see if it’s been tampered with. If so, don’t touch it and call security.
Seems a bit silly, I know.
Ken, that has to be one of the most moronic statements I’ve ever had the misfortune to read.
I feel sorry for you.
Rich, I think your comment is dead on.
Bennett, people DO blame America all of the time for the actions of our President…that was my point. I’m certainly not gonna’ join in THAT mentality. I’ve travelled to many countries in this world, and one thing it has taught me is that no matter how badly we may think of a government, people all over the planet are generally kind and good-hearted. That’s my personal experience. As far as boycotts go, I may not agree with you, but I certainly applaud you for doing what you believe is right, and using what power you have. I just think it might be misguided.
-Ciao
An Indonesian (or Australian Court) could not the evidence make a finding other than that of guilty. That evidence (taken from the transcript) is as follows:
1. Corby was asked to open the bag containing the marijuana.
2. She “looked very nervous about opening the bag”.
3. When asked to open the bag, she replied “No”.
4. When customs officers opened the bag, they asked about the
marijuana, “What is this?”
5. Corby replied “It’s mine”.
On this evidence alone and without going any further, it is difficult to see what other conclusion the Court could have been reached. The defence’s evidence against was at best flimsy and is difficult to see how any Court anywhere, applying normal principles of evidence, could
have accepted it as a rebuttal of the case against Corby.
The main argument raised in Corby’s favour, in the public debate here in Australia, is “why would you have taken drugs to Bali where it is freely and cheaply available”?. The answer is found in this article from The Age, an Australian newspaper:
“While drugs might seem freely available on the streets, the foreigners who live in Bali, including those serving time in Kerobokan jail, say that buying them is a very risky business because you never know if the seller is an undercover police officer or a police informer.
For that reason, westerners in Bali are prepared to pay premium prices for marijuana if they can get it from other Westerners, as that’s the best way to ensure they are not going to be trapped and arrested…
One European man, now serving a jail term for possessing hashish, said he knows of several Australians who have been bringing strong hydroponic marijuana into Bali. He said it brings “really good money”, getting a price around 50 per cent higher than the Nepalese hashish that is more widely available for around $A16 a gram
on the streets.”
As for the intemperate views expressed in the public debate about the “defects” of the Indonesian legal system (a bit rich when you think that the US Supreme Court shamefully stole from Al Gore the election which he won), from all accounts, the Indonesian legal system post-democracy is working quite well and fairly compared to what was there previously during the period of the US and Australian -backed dictatorship in Indonesia. For anyone who is interested, see the Sydney Morning Herald’s commentary at http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Fact-and-fiction-in-the-Corby-case/2005/05/26/1116950819084.htm Did anyone complain when that same legal system swiftly convicted the Bali bombers after a trial that was praised in Australia for its fairness and efficient dispensation of justice (one of the judges in the Corby case was also a judge in the trial of the Bali bombers - death sentences were handed down)?
I have never seen before anything quite like pressure applied on the Indonesian government and courts in this matter including the utterly improper comments made by Kim Beazley the leader of the opposition in Australia. It really made me ashamed of being Australian. It would just have been tragic if the Indonesians had buckled to these pressures and allowed them to interfere with the due operation of the law. Theirs is a fledgling democracy with only just the beginning of an independent judiciary. I think that they can derive great satisfaction from the fact that their legal system worked as it should have without succumbing to political or other outside pressure.
There is also no point in talking about the severity of the sentence compared to the kind of sentence that would have been handed down in the US or Australia. It is not for outsiders to tell the Indonesians that this is what they should do or not in drafting or enforcing their laws. What would we think if they turned around and started lecturing Western countries on anti-terror laws? I would not like it if Indonesians or anyone else tries to influence our government and Courts if an Indonesian in Australia were being tried in an Australian Court.
When going to a foreign country, one simply needs to observe the law and accept that there will be differences (including in the severity of punishment). Travellers to South East Asia leaving Australia are forewarned about the harsh penalties for drug offences including the death penalty.
For Indonesians reading this blog, please know that despite the behavior of our press and the intemperate comments by some politicians in Australia, there are enough of us who think that justice has been properly administered in this matter. I am convinced that as more of the facts come to light, more and more people here will change their views.
What I sense in some of the comments in the public debate is a supremacist and contemptuous attitude towards Indonesia - I won’t use the “R” word - and find these comments disturbing to say the least. I am sorry to say that the behaviour of Corby’s friends and supporters both here in Australia and in Bali also reflect similar attitudes. I have only too often seen young badly behaved Westerners in Bali and
places such as Thailand, Goa and Southern Europe showing little regard for the places they are visiting and the local people. Sad as this may be for Ms Corby, her fate may be serve as a lesson that long gone are the days when young Westerners can go anywhere in the world and indulge every whim and fancy without any regard for the sensitivities of the local people.
Finally, as for the comments on not giving aid to Indonesia, if the price for accepting aid is to put with the corruption of the legal system to suit the donor’s requirements (if that is what is being suggested), then the decision made by the Indians not to accept aid when the Tsunami hit, sounds like it may have the right one – and the point will not be unnoticed by Indonesians. Not only did they look after themselves but provide considerable aid of their own to other affected countries like Sri Lanka.
An Indonesian (or Australian Court) could not the evidence make a finding other than that of guilty. That evidence (taken from the transcript) is as follows:
1. Corby was asked to open the bag containing the marijuana.
2. She “looked very nervous about opening the bag”.
3. When asked to open the bag, she replied “No”.
4. When customs officers opened the bag, they asked about the
marijuana, “What is this?”
5. Corby replied “It’s mine”.
On this evidence alone and without going any further, it is difficult to see what other conclusion the Court could have been reached. The defence’s evidence against was at best flimsy and is difficult to see how any Court anywhere, applying normal principles of evidence, could
have accepted it as a rebuttal of the case against Corby.
The main argument raised in Corby’s favour, in the public debate here in Australia, is “why would you have taken drugs to Bali where it is freely and cheaply available”?. The answer is found in this article from The Age, an Australian newspaper:
“While drugs might seem freely available on the streets, the foreigners who live in Bali, including those serving time in Kerobokan jail, say that buying them is a very risky business because you never know if the seller is an undercover police officer or a police informer.
For that reason, westerners in Bali are prepared to pay premium prices for marijuana if they can get it from other Westerners, as that’s the best way to ensure they are not going to be trapped and arrested…
One European man, now serving a jail term for possessing hashish, said he knows of several Australians who have been bringing strong hydroponic marijuana into Bali. He said it brings “really good money”, getting a price around 50 per cent higher than the Nepalese hashish that is more widely available for around $A16 a gram
on the streets.”
As for the intemperate views expressed in the public debate about the “defects” of the Indonesian legal system (a bit rich when you think that the US Supreme Court shamefully stole from Al Gore the election which he won), from all accounts, the Indonesian legal system post-democracy is working quite well and fairly compared to what was there previously during the period of the US and Australian -backed dictatorship in Indonesia. For anyone who is interested, see the Sydney Morning Herald’s commentary at http://www.smh.com.au/news/Opinion/Fact-and-fiction-in-the-Corby-case/2005/05/26/1116950819084.htm Did anyone complain when that same legal system swiftly convicted the Bali bombers after a trial that was praised in Australia for its fairness and efficient dispensation of justice (one of the judges in the Corby case was also a judge in the trial of the Bali bombers - death sentences were handed down)?
I have never seen before anything quite like pressure applied on the Indonesian government and courts in this matter including the utterly improper comments made by Kim Beazley the leader of the opposition in Australia. It really made me ashamed of being Australian. It would just have been tragic if the Indonesians had buckled to these pressures and allowed them to interfere with the due operation of the law. Theirs is a fledgling democracy with only just the beginning of an independent judiciary. I think that they can derive great satisfaction from the fact that their legal system worked as it should have without succumbing to political or other outside pressure.
There is also no point in talking about the severity of the sentence compared to the kind of sentence that would have been handed down in the US or Australia. It is not for outsiders to tell the Indonesians that this is what they should do or not in drafting or enforcing their laws. What would we think if they turned around and started lecturing Western countries on anti-terror laws? I would not like it if Indonesians or anyone else tries to influence our government and Courts if an Indonesian in Australia were being tried in an Australian Court.
When going to a foreign country, one simply needs to observe the law and accept that there will be differences (including in the severity of punishment). Travellers to South East Asia leaving Australia are forewarned about the harsh penalties for drug offences including the death penalty.
For Indonesians reading this blog, please know that despite the behavior of our press and the intemperate comments by some politicians in Australia, there are enough of us who think that justice has been properly administered in this matter. I am convinced that as more of the facts come to light, more and more people here will change their views.
What I sense in some of the comments in the public debate is a supremacist and contemptuous attitude towards Indonesia - I won’t use the “R” word - and find these comments disturbing to say the least. I am sorry to say that the behaviour of Corby’s friends and supporters both here in Australia and in Bali also reflect similar attitudes. I have only too often seen young badly behaved Westerners in Bali and
places such as Thailand, Goa and Southern Europe showing little regard for the places they are visiting and the local people. Sad as this may be for Ms Corby, her fate may be serve as a lesson that long gone are the days when young Westerners can go anywhere in the world and indulge every whim and fancy without any regard for the sensitivities of the local people.
Finally, as for the comments on not giving aid to Indonesia, if the price for accepting aid is to put with the corruption of the legal system to suit the donor’s requirements (if that is what is being suggested), then the decision made by the Indians not to accept aid when the Tsunami hit, sounds like it may have the right one – and the point will not be unnoticed by Indonesians. Not only did they look after themselves but provide considerable aid of their own to other affected countries like Sri Lanka.
Nick, you said “Whether she knew about the drugs or not, I think it’s true to say she will never be caught doing the same again.”
Well if she didn’t know about the drugs how will she avoid being framed in the future.
Craig,
Unless she is acquitted on appeal, a side effect of her drug conviction will be that as a legal matter, after she serves her sentence and is then deported, she won’t be able to leave Australia for years; most countries have laws barring people with criminal convictions from entering. There are ways, but they are complicated and involve, e.g., proving one’s “rehabilitation” (very difficult in drug cases). So she won’t have to be worried about future frame ups (at least those involving foreign travel) for a while….
Cheers.
Lex’s comments are most interesting:
“While drugs might seem freely available on the streets, the foreigners who live in Bali, including those serving time in Kerobokan jail, say that buying them is a very risky business because you never know if the seller is an undercover police officer or a police informer.
If that is true, than the corruption is well intermingled with their criminal justice system. As such, the crime, if she did do it, is being held up as an example, selective prosecution as it were. The conditions that led to the decision to important high-end ganja to Bali is from the inability of Indonesian to control corruption of their own police, who theoretically has sworn an oath of office to protect and serve the laws of the land and not perjury themselves. It seems widespread knowledge that perjury and criminal drug traffic are part of the SOP of the Bali police.
So what is the point of this incarceration? What is achieved?
At what cost? What message are the Indonesians really trying to send to Australia and the rest of the world in this action?
I am sure more well come out on this, however my points on this remain the same:
1) The punishment is not fitting the crime appropriately
For Gawd sakes this is a friggin plant and less dangerous to the body of the roadways than beer.
2) The legal process in Bali (guilt until proven innocent) is wrong no matter where or by whom this approach is employed. Uncivilized in other words
3) Boycotts and strikes are one legal and democratic method of sending a message in the event of perceived injustice and an available option for those who feel strongly on an issue.
As we do, absent the change in the legal model in Bali, we will choose to travel to other countries instead. As for the US, we are already here, and I cannot defend what our government has done, nor will I. We are in a blue state and this is the most polarized I have seen this country in my lifetime, though as a historian, I understand during the Civil war in the 1860’s things got a little testy as well,
New Thoughts
� Australian government seems to be wimpy on this considering the combo of their $1B in aide and their apparent unspoken fear of the Indonesians as a possibly enemy.
Stiff upper lip aside, they could stand up and support this matter on other issues that whether she did or didn’t do it
� Corby is clearly a pawn in this. The point of disdain I have with this is user her as one and “how they [the authorities] played the game. Putting aside her negotiation of film rights and a book, the women’s life has been irrevocably altered. the economic cost to this is illogical as is the drug war in general. Government needs to focus on protedcting and serving their people, educating them, housing them, seeing to their well being.
This action, and the drug war in general, is off that topic and mission and only creates a robust black market at best.
Bennett
This is a very unfortunate and sad story. The only problem I have is that all these people who have left comments think that it is allright to break the laws of foreign countries and that her sentence is outrageous. Maybe her sentence is outrageous but she made the decision to bring the drugs into Bali knowing that it was a very dangerous undertaking. When people travel to foriegn lands they must respect and adhere to the local laws and customs. 2o years is a lot of time but she should have thought about that before she decided to smuggle the drugs into Indonesia. She would have probally made a lot of money had she gotten away with it. The people who say she is innocent are stupid and ignorant to the laws of Indonesia. If you were to bring 9 pounds of pot into New York JFK and get caught you would probally go to jail for along time. The people who say i will never travel to Bali again because some girl got arrested for smugglin pot into a country that has no tolerance for illicit drugs are also ignorant. And if that is your attitude about visiting Bali then we dont want you hear to begin with. MARIJUANA IS ILLEGAL IN INDONESIA JUST LIKE IN AUSTRALIA. DONT COME TO BALI IF YOU WANT TO SMOKE POT. GO TO AMSTERDAM OR PORTUGAL. GOD BLESS THE YOUNG LADY.
We have been to Bali 6 times, but never again. It’s just backward & has primative laws and filled with infidels who wouldn’t know if their arses were on fire. If there were another disaster over in Indonesia, they would get Jack Shit from us. I hope everyone stops going there. Hit them where it hurts, in the back pocket. I hope they all go down the drain for what they’ve done to Schapelle. She is innocent. The judicial system is like the backwaters of the mississippi, filled with Judges who are rednecks and don’t know the law. Go to hell Bali.
How can you comment on what this innocent person looks like. This person is an Australian and is being held hostage by a country who has no moral respect for its citizens let alone alone an innocent Australian.
California gal here. I will NEVER, EVER visit to Bali after this news story. Police could snatch away my husband or daughter for who knows what. And I could expect no sympathy from my community, as the U.S. strongly warns against travel to Indonesia. It sounds like a very frightening place, and anybody who goes is just asking for it.
That’s pretty much it Cali
Why risk it?
There are MANY other places to go where you don’t need to worry about getting shot or locked up forever for the crime of not locking your bag.
Like people have said. We can’t make them have reasonable laws. That’s a fair comment. Nobody can tell them what to do. That’s fair enough as well.
But nobody can make me go to Bali. If they want to be so heavy handed and convict anyone who’s even been accused then I’ll go to Fiji or New Zealand.
Hi,
Let’s not forget one thing–if she is to be believed, it is the fault of Australian baggage handlers who mistakenly placed the pot in her bag. This has nothing to do with Bali per se; with 9 pounds of drugs, she’d be in jail wherever she travelled. Imagine what her situation would be now if she’d gone to Singapore, for example, which has a mandatory death penalty for traffickers. Who out there thinks a Singapore judge would have let her walk?
Hi,
Let’s not forget one thing–if she is to be believed, it is the fault of Australian baggage handlers who mistakenly placed the pot in her bag. This has nothing to do with Bali per se; with 9 pounds of drugs, she’d be in jail wherever she travelled. Imagine what her situation would be now if she’d gone to Singapore, for example, which has a mandatory death penalty for traffickers. Who out there thinks a Singapore judge would have let her walk?
Hi,
Let’s not forget one thing–if she is to be believed, it is the fault of Australian baggage handlers who mistakenly placed the pot in her bag. This has nothing to do with Bali per se; with 9 pounds of drugs, she’d be in jail wherever she travelled. Imagine what her situation would be now if she’d gone to Singapore, for example, which has a mandatory death penalty for traffickers. Who out there thinks a Singapore judge would have let her walk?
Hi,
Let’s not forget one thing–if she is to be believed, it is the fault of Australian baggage handlers who mistakenly placed the pot in her bag. This has nothing to do with Bali per se; with 9 pounds of drugs, she’d be in jail wherever she travelled. Imagine what her situation would be now if she’d gone to Singapore, for example, which has a mandatory death penalty for traffickers. Who out there thinks a Singapore judge would have let her walk?
The retardation of the boycotters is just rich. She would have gotten jail time anywhere, if not a bullet in the back of the head. Like them or not, Indonesia has drug laws. Corby was incapable of producing evidence that exonerated her of the charges she was accused of, and implicated herself with her words and actions. Given that the courts had the option of executing her, her sentence is lenient and in keeping with the sentence she would have gotten in many countries- including the US. Possession of 9lb of marijuana entering the states would probably be treated no more leniently than in Indonesia. Whether you agree in philosophy with the law is frankly irrelevant- I think drug laws are retarded too, but, bottom line, they exist.
To everyone who claims she’s innocent: prove it. I’m sure she’d appreciate the help, because she couldn’t.
To everyone not planning to go to Bali in retribution: grow up.
To everyone wringing their hands about how “this could happen to anyone”: yeah, anyone dumb enough to try to smuggle a huge load of ganja into a third-world country. If you’re that concerned about getting framed, lock your bags and keep them in sight all the time.
In any other normal country the evidence would have been chucked out because the cops just didn’t feel like taking fingerprints.
Also the lack of a before and after weight. A non farked country would have been forced to throw away the drugs as evidence because cops just didn’t feel like doing what they were supposed to do.
Remember Grace? Unmerited favor? All concerned, the convicted and the Indonesian government could use a little.
Quite a range of comments here. I must admit that I am completely non-plussed by the attitudes of those who applaud the verdict.On one site, I read the following from one of the judges who said that the testimony of the (other) witnesses must be disallowed because it is hearsay etc, but the statements of the police must be admitted BECAUSE THEY ARE SWORN OFFICERS OF THE LAW. Now, if you think about that for more than a millisecond or two, you can’t help but come to the conclusion that even holding a trial is not necessary. Just take the word of the cop and jail/execute the accused. Hitler would indeed be proud of that state of affairs. As for the argument put forward by some, and I think even Howard has alluded to this, that Indonesia is a new democracy and we therefore should make allowances for its simple but harsh judicial system: well that stinks. What??, are we supposed to just write Schapelle off as just a little “collateral” damage. Bullshit!!!. The fact is that the “trial” was nothing better than a kangeroo court. Anyone with just half a brain can see that she did not get a fair trial.No fingerprinting. Refusal to weigh her baggage. Refusal to supply examples of grass to AFP for analysis. and total disregard to ALL testimony except that of the customs/police.
What I’d like to see. Someone go to Bali and plant some grass (or heavier stuff) into those judges’ cars, offices, homes etc. But then again, what a waste of time… they’d be untouchable.
I gave to the Tsunami appeal. Never again. Oh!, and one last point about the beautiful people of Bali. Corby has been to Bali 5 or 6 times since she was 16. Spending her holiday money there and helping them keep their economy going. So, when a phone poll was conducted of some 400 local Balinese just before the verdict, asking what they thought, how did they respond??? 92% plus said Guilty. Give ‘em nothing: let ‘em rot in their own corruption.
Quite a range of comments here. I must admit that I am completely non-plussed by the attitudes of those who applaud the verdict.On one site, I read the following from one of the judges who said that the testimony of the (other) witnesses must be disallowed because it is hearsay etc, but the statements of the police must be admitted BECAUSE THEY ARE SWORN OFFICERS OF THE LAW. Now, if you think about that for more than a millisecond or two, you can’t help but come to the conclusion that even holding a trial is not necessary. Just take the word of the cop and jail/execute the accused. Hitler would indeed be proud of that state of affairs. As for the argument put forward by some, and I think even Howard has alluded to this, that Indonesia is a new democracy and we therefore should make allowances for its simple but harsh judicial system: well that stinks. What??, are we supposed to just write Schapelle off as just a little “collateral” damage. Bullshit!!!. The fact is that the “trial” was nothing better than a kangeroo court. Anyone with just half a brain can see that she did not get a fair trial.No fingerprinting. Refusal to weigh her baggage. Refusal to supply examples of grass to AFP for analysis. and total disregard to ALL testimony except that of the customs/police.
What I’d like to see. Someone go to Bali and plant some grass (or heavier stuff) into those judges’ cars, offices, homes etc. But then again, what a waste of time… they’d be untouchable.
I gave to the Tsunami appeal. Never again. Oh!, and one last point about the beautiful people of Bali. Corby has been to Bali 5 or 6 times since she was 16. Spending her holiday money there and helping them keep their economy going. So, when a phone poll was conducted of some 400 local Balinese just before the verdict, asking what they thought, how did they respond??? 92% plus said Guilty. Give ‘em nothing: let ‘em rot in their own corruption.
>police must be admitted BECAUSE THEY ARE SWORN
>OFFICERS OF THE LAW. Now, if you think about that
>for more than a millisecond or two, you can’t help
>but come to the conclusion that even holding a
>trial is not necessary. Just take the word of the
>cop and jail/execute the accused. Hitler would
>indeed be proud of that state of affairs. As for
>the argument put forward by some, and I think even
>Howard has alluded to
At this stage, I would like to invoke Godwin’s Law.
>The fact is that the “trial” was nothing better
>than a kangeroo court. Anyone with just half a
>brain can see that she did not get a fair
>trial.No fingerprinting. Refusal to weigh her
>baggage. Refusal to supply examples of grass to
>AFP for analysis. and total disregard to ALL
>testimony except that of the customs/police.
The people that didn’t record the weights of the bags were in Brisbane.
And the “drugs were in the bag therefore is yours” argument was good enough for Australia in “The Melbourne Incident”.
>As for the argument put forward by some, and I
>think even Howard has alluded to this, that
>Indonesia is a new democracy and we therefore
>should make allowances for its simple but harsh
>judicial system: well that stinks. What??, are we
>supposed to just write Schapelle off as just a
>little “collateral” damage. Bullshit!!!.
5 Japanese. 15 year sentences. 10 year jail terms. Were they “collateral damage”?
By the way, apparently Shapelle Corby’s legal team are preparing for an appeal. When anyone here writes a letter to SBY or to the Indonesians to lodge your protest, be sure to provide them with a URL for this page. I’m sure the rants and raves, threats and insults will help them see her case in a different light.
Or they can find these comments via Google themselves.
>police must be admitted BECAUSE THEY ARE SWORN
>OFFICERS OF THE LAW. Now, if you think about that
>for more than a millisecond or two, you can’t help
>but come to the conclusion that even holding a
>trial is not necessary. Just take the word of the
>cop and jail/execute the accused. Hitler would
>indeed be proud of that state of affairs. As for
>the argument put forward by some, and I think even
>Howard has alluded to
At this stage, I would like to invoke Godwin’s Law.
>The fact is that the “trial” was nothing better
>than a kangeroo court. Anyone with just half a
>brain can see that she did not get a fair
>trial.No fingerprinting. Refusal to weigh her
>baggage. Refusal to supply examples of grass to
>AFP for analysis. and total disregard to ALL
>testimony except that of the customs/police.
The people that didn’t record the weights of the bags were in Brisbane.
And the “drugs were in the bag therefore is yours” argument was good enough for Australia in “The Melbourne Incident”.
>As for the argument put forward by some, and I
>think even Howard has alluded to this, that
>Indonesia is a new democracy and we therefore
>should make allowances for its simple but harsh
>judicial system: well that stinks. What??, are we
>supposed to just write Schapelle off as just a
>little “collateral” damage. Bullshit!!!.
5 Japanese. 15 year sentences. 10 year jail terms. Were they “collateral damage”?
By the way, apparently Shapelle Corby’s legal team are preparing for an appeal. When anyone here writes a letter to SBY or to the Indonesians to lodge your protest, be sure to provide them with a URL for this page. I’m sure the rants and raves, threats and insults will help them see her case in a different light.
Or they can find these comments via Google themselves.
Anyone know the address of the Kerokoban Jail?
Nice comment AltOpt, you’re right, I wonder also the reaction of the higher court judges who will handle Corby’s appeal if they read some insulting comments here on them, their beloved country, and so on. You may say our judicial system is unjust if they make Corby’s sentence WORSE because of those insulting comments. But, what can I say? They are just human being with emotion as you’re. If I am in the same position as them I will react that result in lifetime sentence or at least 30 years sentence to give you a lesson learnt on respecting other people law. I bet you as an Indonesian I really love to write a letter informing them on CIVILIZED behaviour you showed, and I wonder if you think than that Judge Sirait is an honorable man allowing him to be insulted by CIVILIZED Corby’s family and supporters. IF YOU CAN INSULT US, IF YOU CAN BOYCOTT BALI, I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE YOU THAT WE CAN MAKE ALL MUCH WORSE FOR SCHAPELLE, JUST WAIT UNTIL MY LETTER IS READ BY JUDGES AND MANY INDONESIANS.
Of course, it’s a joke, I mean I’ll never write a letter as such, don’t worry, we’re not that horrible
Only stupid idots would say she is guilty.
Anyone who says she should stay there are probably involved themselves. Afterall your safe if she is behind bars. What i don’t understand is ‘there’ you can buy any drug if you have the cash or something to bribe with, seems its probably indonesians panting these drugs on innocent tourists, after all if they didnt have anything to hide they would access the evidence in detail, of course there not going to catch there own, the judge is probably paying them well, what a setup.
The truth cannot remain hidden forever. Why cant we go in and break her out. There going to kill australians, it should be an eye for an eye. WHen she one day is finally found innocent and she will be.. i hope she goes for gold and gets rich after all the misery she is and has been through.
Wheres another Tsunami when you need it!! Yes there were alot of innocent people suffer through the tsunami, but i don’t see many wanting to stand by us in a time of need. my your country struggle finacially and go to ruins. Wouldnt it be good to be able to put Bali legal system on trial here, we have always been a reasonably fair country but in this case, your country is going to collapse.
Skye, before you call anybody else idiot, please read this:
see as stated before people have short memories, she will be forgotten, its been 3 days now and no more comments, about time,
I for one will never travel to a country where your life is taken away for possessing a sack of dried leaves while leaders of organizations responsible for many deaths go free.
Seems a bit harsh to me, but it’s their country. As for me I’ll stay out of it.
… Somewhere in the U.S.A.
Corby and the mob
Andrew Bolt
01jun05
AND now to the verdict on the Schapelle Corby case. I find the defendant guilty of xenophobia, spite, boorishness and a self-righteous tribal hysteria.
No, I don’t mean Corby.
I’m referring to the weeping and bellowing mob that is demanding we do all it takes — even starve the poorest Indonesians — to free this convicted drug trafficker. “Our” Schapelle.
What a shock to see the beast of mob rule roar like this, and in support of a woman who seems on the evidence more likely to be guilty than she’s painted.
Yes, Corby may be as innocent as she says. But picture how she must look, and how we all now look, to an Indonesian, whether a judge or a citizen.
Here is a surfer girl who worked as a bar hostess in Tokyo’s nightclub area, flying into Bali for reportedly the fifth time in six years.
(Corby, a student beautician who’d scraped up cash from working at a fish-and-chip shop, told 60 Minutes she’d been to Bali “five or six times since I was 16”.)
Customs officials screen her bags and detect something suspicious. They watch her, and later tell a court she seems nervous. Her bodyboard bag is more than twice its usual weight, bulging with an extra something the size of a stuffed pillow.
Actually, she says later, she’d only dragged her bag, and had so much other luggage she couldn’t tell its weight was unusual, or that there was anything inside but a bodyboard and flippers. Yes, well.
Two police and two customs officials agree on what happened next. They say Corby’s brother James carried the bag for her to the customs area, where officer I Gusti Nyoman Winata asked her to open it.
Corby zipped open the front pocket. Now the main zip, demanded Winata.
“The suspect (seemed) to panic,” he later testified.
“When I opened the bag a little bit, she stopped me and said, ‘No!’
“I asked why. She answered, ‘I have some . . .’ She looked confused.”
ABC’s Lateline showed Winata re-enacting Corby’s lunge to stop him opening her bag. He seemed as honest as Corby does, and said he had no doubt of her guilt.
Winata looked inside and found 4.1kg of top-quality marijuana, stowed in two airlock plastic bags, one tucked inside the other.
What is it, he asked?
“It’s marijuana,” the officials heard Corby reply.
Keep thinking how this all must look to an Indonesian. Who would you believe?
Think how it seems when the marijuana turns out to be hydroponically grown, and worth anywhere up to $80,000 in Bali, where it is prized by expatriates who are sick of the weak local weed and feel safer buying from a tourist. Big profits.
Keep picturing. The Indonesians learn that Corby, although having no criminal record, comes from a wild and woolly family.
One of her brothers is in jail for burglary and stealing, her mother is on to her fourth partner after having six children by three men. Her father had a minor conviction some 30 years ago for possessing marijuana.
Sure, none of that makes her guilty, but how would all this make Corby seem to an Indonesian? Here’s a tip: Not like she came from the responsible land of the straight-and-narrow.
I T gets worse. Corby’s defence team is soon headed by a salesman who looks like a spiv and is a former bankrupt who still owes creditors plenty.
Her main defence witness becomes an alleged rapist flown in from a Melbourne jail to tell how he heard some crook who’d heard some other crook say Corby was unwittingly carrying drugs for crooks operating at the Brisbane and Sydney airport terminals.
With Australians like this behind Corby, it’s a wonder the whole country wasn’t tossed into the cell with her.
The judges are then asked to believe these unknown smugglers took the marijuana into a high-security area at Brisbane in easy-to-see-through plastic and popped it into a random bag to be flown to another high-security area in Sydney.
Why the smugglers would do that, rather than simply drive the drugs down to Sydney by car, all safe, no one can say. That they then let their valuable drugs fly off to Bali is another mystery.
No wonder our own Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty dismissed Corby’s theory as “flimsy”. Corby’s judges must have thought her team took them for idiots.
Idiots? They soon learned plenty of Australians took them for far worse. And now it was not Corby on trial, and losing, but Australia.
In one heady spasm, hundreds of thousands of Australians became certain that Corby the beautiful battler was in fact innocent.
Suddenly she was the star of a reality-TV Perils of Pauline — complete with cartoon-like big breasts, every-woman prettiness and more tears than a soapie. It helped the plot that she was repeatedly filmed hands bound and besieged, pale in a jabbering, jostling crowd of brown foreigners.
Damn those natives. “The judges don’t even speak English, mate, they’re straight out of the trees, if you excuse my expression,” raged 2GB Sydney fill-in host Malcolm T. Elliott.
“Whoa, give them a banana and away they go.”
Others screamed that the judges were lying Muslims out for revenge (in fact, the chief judge was a Christian, and the other two Hindus).
Newspapers attacked Indonesia’s courts as corrupt and their jails as temples of “gloating sadism” where there was “little sympathy of foreigners, for which you may perhaps read Christians”. Save “our” Schapelle from the demon heathen!
No surprise, then, that Indonesian officials here were bombarded with so many threats and insults that Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer had to plead for them to be left alone. What would we say of Indonesians if our own diplomats were monstered like this?
Now Corby’s defenders demand we boycott struggling Bali. Actor Russell Crowe, among others, even warned Indonesia to remember we gave money for its tsunami victims — as if we only gave charity in exchange for passes out of jail.
Sick, but the feeling has grown. The Salvation Army, out on its Red Shield appeal, had to promise not to send donations to Indonesia. Let their poor suffer for “our” Schapelle.
Meanwhile, radio hosts insisted the Prime Minister call the Indonesian President to fix things in court for Corby, as if such interference wasn’t plainly corrupt.
Worryingly, even senior politicians lost their heads in the hysteria, with Justice Minister Chris Ellison vowing to try bringing Corby home in a “one-off” prisoner exchange. The other 150 Australians in jail overseas should get breast implants.
HAVE we lost our heads? Are we really such a vile rabble?
What must Indonesians make of this hissing mob that threatens their diplomats, vilifies their country, blackmails them with aid and treats their judges as the corrupt playthings of our politicians? And all this for the sake of a convicted drug smuggler who seems quite probably guilty, and only possibly innocent.
Even our whinges about their drug laws must seem bizarre. Guess who truly has the worst laws — Indonesia, which gave Corby 20 years’ jail for having 4.1kg of marijuana; or Victoria, which meanwhile gave a mere 12-month community service order to a teacher found with 29kg — and let her keep her teaching licence?
So how must we seem to Indonesians? Like barbarians, or even terrorists, and it’s hard at the moment to think them very wrong.
I think she is innocent…unfortunately the political system does not agree…what kind of world do we live in and why do our laws change constantly?!???
Hi Nick, It is a very very sad story. Schapelle corby seems to me to be innocent. But the question i ask is she has been to Bali a handful of times, why on earth wasn’t her luggage locked? I really do feel for this girl but travelling to countries like this people must be aware that this is the risk u take.The laws in indonesia involving drugs are ridiculous but people all over the world are familiar with the consequences even if they are innocent. There is a simple solution DONT GO. This poor girl has paid the ultimate price.
Using her charm to cheat, Schapelle Corby deserves and fits perfect for capital punishment.
i have written 2 every local official there is in australia who can help her but it dosen’t seem to be enough.How can they do this to her she had 4.5 of marijuana i think she’s innocent but 4 the people that don’t no1 else in there court system has had a sentence longer than 5 years up 2 10km of marijuana so she gets 20 yrs reduced 2 15 they should have given her the death sentence how will this poor girl make it.We have 2 fight 4 her if we wont stand up 4 one of our own who will.
I think quite often aboutMs. Corby. My heart goes out to her and her family. I believe she is
innocent and wonder what steps, if any, are being
taken by the Australians to get her released.
Indonesia needed and still needs so much money to rebuild, one would think she could be traded.
At the beginning of this that was a point that was pondered; that Ms. Corby was being treated as she was because Australia hadn’t “gotten on board” in the relief effort as much as the
Indonesian govt. would have liked.
Why should the australian government do anything to help a convicted drug trafficker?? Remember the pedophile–a former australian diplomat (!!) in Karangasem, who was recently convicted then hanged himself? I dont see his case coming up on this blog that often!!!
Whoops..
Heres another one sitting in a ” Lucky Country”…
thinking that guilty drug smugglers can be traded with the poor countries for sacks of rice, trinkets and blankets.
God save Idiots from their profound ignorance…
The Bali Justice System is a Joke!!! remind me never to travel to Bali, if it could happen to Schapelle it could happen to anyone. Schapelle is INNOCENT!!!