Defiant Corby to appeal against 20-year sentence

Denpasar, Bali
Saturday, 28 May 2005

Schapelle Corby dried her tears behind the walls of Bali's Kerobokan jail last night, vowing to fight her drug-smuggling conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

In chaotic scenes at Denpasar District Court earlier, her shocked lawyers and family denounced the verdict handed down by three Indonesian judges as a miscarriage of justice. They announced an appeal would be filed as early as Monday.

But Indonesian prosecutors who had demanded life in prison for the 27-year-old Gold Coast woman, complained she had got off too lightly.

They declared they would also go to a higher court and appeal for a tougher sentence for the crime of trying to smuggle marijuana into Bali. 'For us, a just penalty should be life for anyone who imports 4.1kg of marijuana,' chief prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu said.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer offered to send two senior Australian lawyers to help with Corby's appeal, free of charge, and said the Government would begin discussions with Indonesia within 10 days on a prisoner-transfer deal.

Back in her jail cell last night, Corby told her lawyers, 'No more crying. We will fight together.'

Corby's conviction and sentencing dismayed her supporters and lawyers, who argued the drugs were placed in her bag, without her knowledge, by drug smugglers in Australia.

Chief defence counsel Lily Lubis said, 'Schapelle told me the she did not deserve this. She said that not locking her bag was the only mistake she had made. But she's says it is not over yet.'

Earlier, the packed, humid Denpasar court erupted in disbelief and anger as Corby was declared guilty.

Wrapping up a judgment that took two hours to read, chief judge Linton Sirait said the judges were unconvinced by Corby's tearful pleas that the marijuana found in her boogie board bag by Indonesian customs officers at Denpasar Airport on October 8 was not hers.

Tears flowed down Corby's cheeks as the three judges closed their 60-page judgment with the verdict she had feared - "convincingly" guilty.

In a judgment watched live on television by hundreds of thousands of Australians, the judges also fined Corby 100 million rupiah ($A14,000).

Unlike her previous court appearances, Corby was calm and composed yesterday. But as the sentence was handed down in Indonesian, Corby at first looked stunned, repeatedly mouthing the word "20" in Indonesian and slapping her head in grief.

Her shock soon turned to anger, as she pushed away a policeman who had wanted to lead her away.

As soon as Justice Sirait read the verdict, Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, screamed at the judges, "Liar, liar. Honey, we are going to take you home."

At one point Corby, wearing pale pink trousers and a black top, turned to her mother and mouthed, "Mum it's okay, Mum it's okay," before dissolving into tears.

Gasping for breath, Corby then hugged her interpreter Eka Sulistyawati and fought her way across the packed court into the arms of her mother and terminally ill father Michael Corby.

"She just came over, gave us a big smile and said, 'It'll be all right. I will be coming home soon,' and just told her father to be strong, it'll be all right," Ms Rose said.

"I just gave her a kiss and said, 'You'll be home soon'."

Corby was then led away by officers through a crush of media to a waiting vehicle, which took her back to prison.

Corby's financial backer Ron Bakir and Queensland lawyer Robin Tampoe were reduced to tears.

"This is a massive injustice," Mr Bakir told reporters. "I'm speechless, I'm speechless, I really am. I really don't know what more we could have done. We just have to keep fighting - that's all we can do."

Her near-hysterical sister Mercedes screamed, "Schapelle is coming home. She is not guilty."

Corby's legal team will now appeal to Indonesia's High Court in Denpasar, which must hear the case within 150 days. The case could then go to the Indonesian Supreme Court in Jakarta and after that, a presidential pardon could be Corby's last hope.