Jakarta Globe – AFP, Arya Kencana, September 10, 2013
Denpasar. Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby may be months away from checking out of Bali’s notorious “Hotel Kerobokan” prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for marijuana smuggling, following an approval from the prison’s warden on Tuesday.
Denpasar. Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby may be months away from checking out of Bali’s notorious “Hotel Kerobokan” prison, where she is serving a 20-year sentence for marijuana smuggling, following an approval from the prison’s warden on Tuesday.
Warden I
Gusti Ngurah Wiratna signed-off on Tuesday on an 11-person judicial review
team’s recommendation that Corby be granted parole. The approval, an about-face
from previous statements regarding the former beauty queen’s early release, is
the latest bureaucratic step in Corby’s parole process.
Her
application still awaits final approval by the Ministry of Justice and Human
Rights and its Bali provincial office, Wiratna said. The warden previously
opposed any efforts to grant early release to Corby, citing her refusal to
cooperate with anti-narcotics officers’ investigation into the source of 4.2
kilograms of marijuana seized from her surf bag at Bali’s Ngurah Rai
International Airport.
“She should
have admitted where the drugs came from on an official statement and then the
statement would be sent to the National Narcotics Agency (BNN),” Wiratna said in March. “Corby can choose not to be one [who helps an investigation]. She has
immunity, but the consequence is that she can’t be released on parole.”
On Tuesday,
Wiratna softened on the idea, telling reporters that he agreed with the review
panel’s assertion that Corby’s attitude had improved “significantly.”
“She is now
willing to participate in all activities at the prison,” Wiratna said of
Corby’s new attitude. “She used to evade even summons where she could have been
granted sentence cuts.”
Corby has
received a total of 31 months of sentence reductions since 2005, the latest
six-month cut on August 18 in commemoration of Indonesian Independence Day,
Wiratna said. Without parole, Corby would walk free on Sept. 25, 2016, he said.
The prison
will send its recommendation to the justice ministry offices once immigration
officials exempt Corby from needing a residence permit and Interpol submits a
letter stating the Australian national is not on their red list, Wiratna said.
She could be granted parole in a matter of months, he added.
Corby would
remain in Bali for the term of her parole, living with her sister Mercedes
Corby until the terms of release were satisfied. Three judicial officers
previously visited Mercedes’ Kuta home for an inspection, according to
reporters in several News Corp.-owned Australian newspapers. She would be
responsible for financially supporting her sister and providing the former
Queensland beautician with a “moral education.”
The
Australian government has petitioned for Corby’s release for years, urging
Indonesian officials to let her finish out her sentence in an Australian
facility after she suffered a severe bout of depression in 2008. Indonesian
officials, historically loath to appear soft on drug offenders, declined the
offer.
Australian
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he supported Corby’s release in an August
interview with Sky News, telling the 24-hour news channel that he had been
“encouraging the minister to do the compassionate thing” and that he hoped the
minister would take a “sympathetic view.”
“Our view
is… Schapelle Corby, whatever her offense, has paid a price for it and deserves
to have quick, fair consideration of this parole application, for which we provided
a guarantee,” Carr said.
Corby would
be the first foreigner to receive parole in Indonesia, according to Australian
media reports. The drug trafficker’s potential parole inspired criticism from House of Representatives lawmakers, who demanded to know whether Jakarta signed
a backroom deal with Canberra.
Dozens of
foreigners have been jailed for attempting to smuggle drugs through Bali. The
resort island is a popular way-point for international drug cartels’ efforts to
traffic cocaine to Australia, where the stimulant demands exorbitant prices and
is in high demand.
The
Denpasar District Court sentenced 57-year-old British grandmother Lindsay
Sandiford to death earlier this year after she was caught with $2.4 million
worth of cocaine in her luggage. Her sentence was upheld by Indonesia’s Supreme Court on August 29 in a unanimous decision.
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