Fury at Bali drugs verdict

[AussieMark]

Fury at Bali drugs verdict

(CNN) -- Many Australians reacted with anger and shock after a Queensland woman they believe is innocent was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years' jail.

On Friday Indonesian judges found Schapelle Corby "legally and convincingly" guilty of smuggling marijuana into Bali in a case that has generated unprecedented interest among Australians and a diplomatic balancing act for the nation's leader.

The 27-year-old beauty therapist, who has been held in a Bali jail since her arrest on 8 October last year, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah ($10,700) on Friday.

She was arrested at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar after 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana were found concealed in her boogie board bag.

The case has galvanized public opinion in Australia, with a recent survey showing 90 percent thought Corby was innocent, believing her defense argument that the drugs found in her possession were planted by baggage handlers in Australia.

Corby's defense team was buoyed by news Australian Federal Police and Qantas Airways were investigating the role of baggage handlers in a cocaine smuggling operation.

But on Friday chaotic scenes broke out as the guilty verdict was read, with Corby's family and supporters yelling out from the back of the court that "Schapelle is innocent."

Corby, who had largely maintained her composure during the two hour proceedings, pleaded with her family to calm down before turning to her mother, mouthing the words: "It's OK mum. I'm alright."

With tears streaming down her face Corby then slapped her head with her hands before being allowed to embrace her visibly distressed parents and sister.

Corby was led from the court room surrounded by a wall of security as they struggled to move her through a massive press contingent that had converged on the Denpasar court house to cover the verdict.

Outside the court Corby's sister Mercedes said the family would appeal the verdict.

"This is not fair. We will get Schapelle home."

Her financial backer Australian businessman Ron Bakir described the verdict as "a massive injustice," and said he would do whatever it took to get her home.

Many callers to radio talk shows in Australia were incensed, and some said they regretted making donations to Indonesian tsunami victims, The Associated Press reported. Others called for Australians to boycott Bali.

Even before the sentence, there were calls for Australians to boycott the popular holiday destination of Bali and to ban Indonesian products.

Prime Minister John Howard said he understood why Australians felt so deeply about the Corby case.

"The fact that we are a nation whose young travel so much, it is an issue that has touched this country very directly," he said.

Trying to keep a fragile relationship with Jakarta intact, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said any criticism of Indonesia or its justice system would be counterproductive and reflect very badly on Australia.

The Australian government had already provided substantial financial support to Corby's cause, he said, and additional legal support had been offered for any appeal.

Dismissed key evidence

The panel of three judges dismissed key evidence prepared by her defense team, including that of Australia prisoner John Ford who backed Corby's claim that she was an unwitting "drug mule."

The judges found Corby's defense team could not prove if there was another person responsible for the drugs.

"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty" a translator quoted the judges as saying on Sky News.

"We've found that drugs were imported into Indonesia. Importation is illegal in Indonesia and it occurred at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar. This occurred without a licence or any permit to do so. It may not be done by anyone."

"She has been unrepentant to this. It is found the defendant is responsible for the narcotics and this should be considered when handing down the judgment."

Security was stepped up around the Bali courthouse Friday morning with more than 100 officers guarding the building amid concerns of a terror threat.

Already the case has triggered a series of threats against Indonesian diplomatic missions in Australia and Indonesia.

A team of Australian officials will head to Indonesia within the next ten days to discuss a prisoner transfer agreement between the two countries that would see Corby serve her sentence in Australia.

Corby has always maintained her innocence.

During her trial Corby maintained that she was the victim of a drug trafficking operation involving baggage handlers at Australian airports.

[rainstorm]

i feel for her, but im not sure i believe her story

[streetsoldier]

It has happened before, rainstorm...to two American girls on vacation. One was released (after pressure), the other is still serving 20+ years (because one had to "take the fall" for both, to satisfy the judges).

The (expletive unwritten) who was known to the Indonesian authorities, and planted the drugs on them, got away w/o any charges being filed. It is believed that he "greased the palms" of some high-ranking officials.

Indonesian "justice" is little more than a hangman's court, and all penalties are unusually harsh, by anyone's standards.

[AussieMark]

Baggage handlers at Sydney Airport part does make the whole process seem fishy

[AussieMark]

It has happened before, rainstorm...to two American girls on vacation. One was released (after pressure), the other is still serving 20+ years (because one had to "take the fall" for both, to satisfy the judges).

Indonesian "justice" is little more than a hangman's court, and all penalties are unusually harsh, by anyone's standards.

except if its their own. They seem more harsh on foreigners.

I wonder what the Bali 9 will get when that case goes to Trial

[rainstorm]

It has happened before, rainstorm...to two American girls on vacation. One was released (after pressure), the other is still serving 20+ years (because one had to "take the fall" for both, to satisfy the judges).

Indonesian "justice" is little more than a hangman's court, and all penalties are unusually harsh, by anyone's standards.

except if its their own. They seem more harsh on foreigners.

I wonder what the Bali 9 will get when that case goes to Trial

probably a light sentence

[AussieMark]

They are looking at Firing Squad if convicted as the maximum penalty.

[alicia-w]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/03/03/indonesia.crime.bakar/index.html

[AussieMark]

How he got just 2 years is insane.

I always thought terrorism was more serious than drug trafficking although the drug trafficking case was so flimsy. The defence apparantly did a very sub par job in the defence.

[USCG_Hurricane_Watcher]

Whether or not she's guilty or innocent, the court should have exercised better judgment by not throwing out potentially verdict-altering evidence...especially for a case with international consequences; and especially after all the international community has done for the country in the last six months.

[rainstorm]

http://www.boortz.com

ANY PLANS TO VISIT INDONESIA?

Cancel them. Indonesia is a country that will sentence a convicted terrorist who killed dozens to two and one-half years in jail, and then will sentence a 22 year old woman to 20 years in jail for smuggling marijuana. Over the past year or so there have been many reports of tourists arriving in Bali (Indonesia) only to find that drugs have been hidden in their bags. This may well have been what happened to this young Australian. Australians are canceling vacations to Bali. Donations are drying up for Indonesian tsunami relief. I was considering a South Pacific cruise next year that had stops in Indonesia. No more. I notified the cruise line that I would not book the trip if any trips were scheduled to an Indonesian port. Perhaps you might like to reconsider your vacation plans as well.

[alicia-w]

We're not talking a nickel bag here folks. We're talking POUNDS of the stuff.

[gtalum]

I tend to disbelieve her claim of innocence. It's like those morons who get nailed smuggling drugs in Thailand and then complain about Thai prisons. Don't smuggle the drugs, and you won't go to prison. If her story IS true, it's a good validation fo my personal policy to never check luggage and instead travel with only carry-ons.

[Kelarie]

Indonesia's Canberra embassy shut after scare By Michelle Nichols
1 hour, 39 minutes ago

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Indonesia shut its embassy in Australia on Wednesday after receiving an envelope containing a "biological agent," as a public backlash rages against the conviction in Bali of an Australian on drug charges.

Authorities said white powder in the envelope belonged to a family of agents that can cause anthrax, a sometimes deadly infectious disease triggered by a spore-forming bacterium that can be used as a biological weapon.

"It is not an innocent white powder. It is some kind of biological agent. They say it belongs to the bacillus group," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told Australian television.

The bacillus group contains various forms of bacteria, one of which can cause anthrax, which killed five people in the United States in late 2001, after it was found in letters to media and government offices in Washington, Florida and elsewhere.

"Plainly it is not just a case of some white powder being sent, whoever sent it had a more evil intent than that. I am staggered that it has happened," Howard said.

Australian Federal Police said the envelope was delivered to the embassy around 10:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) through the normal mail service and identified as suspicious by embassy staff. The Indonesian Ambassador to Australia was not inside the building.

Australia's opposition Labor foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the ambassador had told him the envelope had been opened and the substance spilled onto the floor.

Marty Natalegawa, a spokesman for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry, said the 52 staff at the embassy were undergoing a "decontamination process" that involved being washed with special chemical substances and their health monitored.

"We will not be intimidated by such a cowardly act and we want the embassy to be active as soon as possible. We should take the higher moral ground and not match what has been done by a group of people in Australia," Natalegawa told El Shinta radio.

"We should react properly and not generalise as if this hostility comes from the whole Australian public. We are sure this is an act by an irresponsible person, which we condemn."

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the embassy staff could be isolated for 48 hours.

GREAT DAMAGE

Beauty therapist Schapelle Corby, 27, was sentenced to 20 years jail last Friday for smuggling 4.1 kg (9 lbs) of marijuana into the resort island of Bali last October.

Howard said it would be a "remarkable coincidence" if the incident at the embassy was not related to the Corby case.

"It will do great damage in the eyes of many Indonesian people to the relationship between our countries and it certainly won't help Schapelle Corby," Howard told reporters.

"It's an act of reckless indifference to human life and I apologize on behalf of the Australian people to the Indonesian embassy and to the Indonesian government," he said.

Corby's conviction sparked an emotional backlash in Australia, with the Indonesian embassy receiving threatening telephone calls and many Australians calling for a Bali boycott and a return of their Indonesian tsunami aid donations.

Corby says she is innocent and that the drugs found in her surfboard bag by a Bali customs officer were planted there by someone at an Australian airport. Newspaper polls show 90 percent of Australians believe Corby is innocent.

Many Australians believe Corby was not given a fair trial and her lawyers on Wednesday formally launched an appeal against the verdict.

In April, bullets were sent to the Indonesian consulate in the west Australian city of Perth along with a letter containing a warning that staff would be killed unless Corby was freed.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050601/wl_ ... donesia_dc

[AussieMark]

Substance 'not dangerous'

THE bacteria sent in a suspicious package to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra was not believed to be dangerous, police said today.

"It looks very unlikely that the substance contains any bacteria of any significant pathological significance," ACT chief police officer John Davies said.

Mr Davies said the findings were revealed in an interim report and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

"The sending of that particular letter was designed to cause major disruption and instil fear," he said.

Mr Davies said a team of investigators was working in Victoria on the case and being assisted by Victorian police.

The Government has confirmed the suspect letter was sent from Victoria with an accompanying note written in Indonesian.

Prime Minister John Howard earlier today refused to detail the contents of the letter but said he had no reason not to believe the attack was linked to Corby's conviction for drug smuggling in Bali.

Mr Davies said he was not sure if final test results would be available today.

He would not speculate on the motive behind the threat but said the Schapelle Corby case could not be ruled out.

[AussieMark]

Abusive letter found in envelope

THE envelope containing a white powder sent to Indonesia's embassy also included an abusive letter written in Indonesian, Foreign minister Alexander Downer said today.

Mr Downer said investigating police had asked him not to reveal the contents of the letter, including whether it made direct reference to Schapelle Corby or further threats to Indonesian interests in Australia.

But he described it as very abusive towards Indonesia as he made a broader plea for Australians to halt the torrent of criticism directed at the nation since the Corby trial verdict was handed down on Friday.

"I won't go into what it said," Mr Downer said during an interview on Southern Cross Broadcasting early today.

"Police have asked me not to do that, but it was abusive, let me just say that ... very abusive ... towards Indonesia."

Mr Downer would only state the letter was sent from within Victoria, and the post office was "near, but not in, Melbourne".

Prime Minister John Howard told Parliament today that analysis of the powder had revealed the substance was "in all probability" not toxic.

Mr Downer said if the substance was toxic then he considered it a terrorist act and, if not, it was still an ugly threat that warranted criminal charges.

The threat comes after a Balinese court last week handed down a 20-year sentence to Australian Schapelle Corby, convicted of drug smuggling despite claims the drugs were planted.

The finding and sentence has sparked outrage in Australia, and Mr Downer said it was "more likely than not" the terror threat to Indonesia's embassy in Canberra yesterday was linked to the Corby case.

"My plea to Australians is really, whatever you think about the Schapelle Corby case ... to remember that abusing and denigrating Indonesia is not likely to be helpful.

"A whole lot of invective and abuse of Indonesia is just going to get their backs up."

Mr Downer said the Corby case was going to appeal, and there were options beyond that including a presidential pardon or transfer to an Australian prison.

This would require negotiation at a political level between Australia and Indonesia, he said.

"This kind of an attack on Indonesians is going to make the achievement of either of those objectives much more difficult," Mr Downer said.

[AussieMark]

Corby's sentence cut by five years

The Bali High Court has reduced Schapelle Corby's 20-year sentence for drug smuggling by five years.

Corby's lead lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea said the Indonesian island's appeal court had notified him of the decision on Wednesday afternoon, although he had not seen an official document.

"There is a verdict. They reduced by five years to 15 years," he told AAP

Corby, who is in Kerobokan prison in Denpasar, had not yet been told of the court's decision, Hutapea said.

The Gold Coast woman was arrested on October 8 last year after customs officers at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport found 4.1 kg of marijuana in her unlocked luggage.

In May, Corby, now 28, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for drug smuggling, after maintaining the drugs were not hers and must have been planted in her baggage by an Australian drug gang using her as an unwitting drug courier.

Corby's sister Mercedes said on Wednesday the family was distraught at the decision of the appeal court.

"She didn't do it. She should be free," she told AAP.

"I was expecting the Australian government to do something.

"We're not happy in this sentence and we will appeal immediately."

The Corby family's next avenue of appeal is to Indonesia's peak Supreme Court in Jakarta.

Mercedes Corby said she would immediately tell her mother Rosleigh Rose, currently in Bali, of the decision.

They would visit Schapelle Corby on Thursday.

"I was prepared; Mum wasn't," Mercedes Corby said.

Hutapea said he believed the 15 years was "not too bad".

"But I hope we get a better result from the Supreme Court."

Another of Corby's legal team, Erwin Siregar, confirmed the news of the cut in Corby's sentence and said they still believed she had a chance to be freed by the Supreme Court.

"We will request through the Supreme Court to allow a teleconference for testimony from new witnesses," he said.

Last month Corby's lawyers said they hoped to organise a video link from Australia to allow unidentified witnesses to present new evidence about who really owned the drugs.

But they were unable to convince Bali's High Court they could find fresh witnesses.

Senior judges said the decision was up to the lower court, where the videolink request has already been rejected.