6:11 PM - Sunday, Jan. 30, 2005
Time is Running Out
I am picky in the "Personal Plights" that I take on however, this has a sincere tone to it.
This is the ongoing story of Schapelle Corby.
Schapelle Corby is 27 years old, and has no history of Drug Trafficking or use.
On October 8, 2004, Corby was caught with 4.2 kilos of marijuana in her luggage at an airport in Bali. Police told reporters it was the largest amount of cannabis taken into Indonesia, and the first such case involving an Australian. Indonesian media has dubbed Corby "the marijuana queen."
Corby, a Gold Coast beauty school student, insists the marijuana was not hers. Many of Corby's supporters believe the marijuana must have been planted in her bag. For one, marijuana tends to be smuggled out of Bali, rather than into Bali because the prices for cannabis in Bali are much lower than the prices for cannabis in Australia. Even the head of the police investigation, Lieutenant-Colonel Bambang Sugiarto, ageed that it is unprecedented for anyone to smuggle marijuana into Bali from Australia.
So then..why is she facing Death by Firing squad?
In addition, the cannabis was found in a clear plastic bag in her body board bag, nestled on top of her yellow swimming fins and her body board. Sugiarto said no fingerprint tests had been conducted on the vacuum-sealed plastic bag, because too many hands had touched it after its discovery.
Corby's attorney, Lily Sri Rahayu Lubis, told reporters that the cannabis was not hidden, but in plain view for all to see once the bag was unzipped.
"Do you think somebody can be that stupid, can be crazy?" asked Lubis. "I don't know what to say but for me it is unbelievable."
Corby and her lawyer have proclaimed that she was innocent since her arrest.
"I am totally innocent," Corby told Australia's Channel Nine by telephone. "You just can't put an innocent person away."
Holiday nightmare
Corby's nightmare began just after she arrived in Bali with her stepbrother and two girl friends. She had flown in from Brisbane via Sydney to Denpasar, on a trip to see her sister Mercedes and her sister's Balinese husband. She was looking forward to celebrating her sister's birthday with her, which was only a few days away. Instead, to everyone's surprise, she was arrested and forced to spend every day since behind bars.
She remembers the day very clearly. She told Channel Nine that she was quite happy to open her bags for the awaiting customs officers.
One of the customs officers pointed to her body board bag.
"He said to my brother 'Is that your boogie board?'" remembered Corby. "And I went, 'No, it's mine.' He didn't ask me, I just opened it... I put my suitcase and my board cover on in Brisbane, you know, and I arrived in Denpasar and I had the shock of my life."
The Balinese authorities will punish Corby with death by firing squad if she is found guilty of trafficking in marijuana. Otherwise she would get up to 20 years in prison and a one billion rupiah ($150,000 US) fine if convicted of importing and possessing the cannabis for personal use.
The Indonesian prosecutors assigned to her case have told the media that they are seeking to make a public example out of Corby.
Corby's family is doing their best to remain strong during this horrific ordeal. Schapelle Corby's father, Michael Corby, is 55 and suffering from prostate cancer. He has been unable to see his daughter since she left Australia because he is not well enough to travel. Throughout her stay in prison, he has expressed his faith in his daughter's virtue.
"She's innocent, she's not a dope head," he protested.
Corby's sister, Mercedes, said her family and friends are struggling to remain positive.
Help free Schapelle Leigh Corby
1. Contact the Australian Prime Minister and the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs, asking them to place pressure on the Balinese Government to release Schapelle Corby.* Australian Prime Minister: John Howard, House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
* Australian foreign affairs Minister: Alexander Downer A.Downer. [email protected]
2. Contact the Indonesian Consulate in Australia and demand that they set Schapelle Corby free. Threaten to boycott all travel to Bali until they grant Corby her freedom.
* Consulate General - Republic of Indonesia, 72 Queens Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; [email protected]
3. Anyone who has ever experienced a problem with their luggage being tampered with at any Australian or Indonesian airports or has dealt with corrupt customs officials in Indonesia, please email your experience to: [email protected]
4. Donate money to the Help Free Schapelle Fund, by making a cheque or money order out to HFS Incorporated and mailing it to:
HFS Incorporated, PO Box 2097, Bondi Junction, Sydney, NSW 2022, Australia
HERE IS A LINK TO DONATE ONLINE NOW
