Bali Prison Warden Approves Corby Parole Application

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Arya Kencana, September 10, 2013

In this photograph taken on April 22, 2008, convicted Australian drug trafficker
 Schapelle Corby, right, and fellow Australian convict Renee Lawrence attend
a ceremony inside Kerobokan prison in Denpasar. (AFP Photo/Sonny Tumbelaka)

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.