Indonesia May Revoke Parole for Drug Mule Corby

Agence France-Presse on 10:06 am March 4, 2014.


Sydney. Australian drug mule Schapelle Corby could have her parole revoked after a documentary about her release from jail, Indonesia’s justice minister was quoted as saying Tuesday.

The 36-year-old, whose case has been the subject of huge fascination in Australia since her 2004 arrest in Bali, was set free last month from Kerobokan prison on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

Under parole conditions she must remain in Bali until 2017. The Indonesian government also warned her against any interviews amid speculation of a million dollar deal with Australia’s Channel Seven.

In a documentary broadcast on Sunday night, Seven interviewed her sister Mercedes while including footage of Corby as she was whisked away from jail in a van. It also showed candid video of her first moments back with her family.

Seven said no payment was involved but Fairfax Media said “an angry looking” Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin told a small group of journalists in his office that he may revoke her parole after watching the show.

“I am waiting for a complete report from the Bali Corrections Board, and in the meantime I’d like to announce that there’s a possibility I will revoke Corby’s parole,” he was quoted as saying.

Corby was convicted over 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana stashed in her surfing gear.

She has always proclaimed her innocence with her sister, in the interview, claiming the drugs “could have been from Indonesia”, suggesting she had been set up, which Fairfax said was particularly controversial.

It added that politicians from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s parliamentary coalition immediately started to pressure the government to act after seeing the documentary, saying the Corby family had tried to “sneak around the law”.

While Corby’s steadfast proclamations of innocence and well-documented fight with mental illness in prison generated much sympathy in Australia, her release drew protests from Indonesian lawmakers and an anti-drugs group who said it contradicted the country’s tough anti-narcotics laws.

In the interview, Mercedes Corby said her sister was “broken” by her time in jail.

She was imprisoned for 20 years in 2005 but the end of her sentence was brought forward to 2016 on several remissions for good behavior, and a five-year cut following an appeal for clemency to the Indonesian president.

( read in the Jak Globe.)



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Mercedes Corby Says Sorry to Indonesia for TV Interview

Agence France-Presse on 9:58 am March 6, 2014.


Sydney. The sister of Australian drug mule Schapelle Corby on Thursday apologized to Indonesia “from the bottom of my heart” for an interview that sparked calls for her sibling to be thrown back in jail.

Australia’s Channel Seven aired a documentary last Sunday in which Mercedes Corby suggested her sister had been set up, claiming the drugs she was caught with “could have been from Indonesia.”

It included footage of Schapelle Corby as she was whisked from jail in a van after her release on parole last month, and showed candid video of the first moments back with her family.

The documentary angered Indonesian authorities, who suggested Corby was seeking to profit from her crime. There has been unconfirmed speculation of a lucrative deal with Channel Seven, which the broadcaster has denied.

Indonesian Justice Minister Amir Syamsuddin, under significant domestic pressure, warned of a “big possibility” that Corby’s parole could be revoked.

“From the bottom of my heart I am very sorry to the people of Indonesia if my interview on Australian TV caused unease,” Mercedes Corby said in statement sent to News Corporation. ”I apologize if my words were disrespectful to Indonesia. I did not intend any disrespect.

“Our family are happy and grateful that Schapelle is free on parole. We thank the Indonesian government.”

Corby was arrested in 2004 at Bali’s main airport with 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in her surf gear, and subsequently jailed

She has always proclaimed her innocence. The saga has riveted Australians and generated significant sympathy in her home country, where her plight has been given blanket coverage.

When an Indonesian minister visited to warn that her parole was in peril on Tuesday, he said Corby brandished a knife and threatened to kill herself, although her family have since denied it was a serious suicide bid.

Corby was diagnosed with depression and psychosis during her time in prison, and her brother-in-law Wayan Widyartha told Australian media that she was stressed and struggling mentally.

“She is stressed now as she can’t go out because many journalists are pursuing her,” he was quoted as saying by the Sydney Daily Telegraph. ”I hope all media can please let us get comfortable… so that the parole can be carried out successfully until 2017.”

Corby was jailed for 20 years, but the end of her sentence was brought forward to 2016 for good behaviour. She must remain in Indonesia until 2017 as a parole condition.


(read in the Jak Globe)


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