Posted on 05/29/2005 1:03:37 PM PDT by wagglebee
CHAPELLE Corby is suffering cruel abuse and racial taunts in jail as Indonesian authorities move to keep her in prison for life.
The Indonesian Government yesterday backed the prosecution bid to toughen Corby's 20-year jail sentence for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Bali's airport last October.
"The 20 years in jail handed down by the Denpasar District Court is too light," Indonesian Attorney-General Abdul Rahman Sale told the Bali Post newspaper.
"She deserves to be sentenced to life."
As the reality of the marathon jail term sank in, Corby, 27, issued a heartfelt thank you to the nation.
"Thank you Australia. Thank you for standing by me," she said through her lawyers.
"Thank you for being there with me."
In other developments:
IT emerged long-term inmates of the dirty and overcrowded prison where she is being held have life expectancies of only 10 years.
THE trial judge defended his verdict as just.
HER family fears she may take her life if she is left to rot in prison.
MEMBERS of the Bali 9 were left dispirited after hearing for the first time that Corby had been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
THE Federal Government is offering to pay for the services of two top QCs with expertise in appeals in Indonesian law.
Corby's Indonesian lawyer, Vasu Rasiah, said she was struggling inside the notorious Kerobokan prison.
"Schapelle is very emotional - sometimes she is smiling, sometimes she is crying," he said.
"She's undergoing deep shock."
"Five or 10 years maybe you can understand, but 20 years - she just can't comprehend the time frame."
Ms Corby's cousin, who gave her name only as Nina, described the Australian's jail cell as a "disgusting, dirty and overcrowded place".
"She says the Indonesians inside are giving her hell because she wears western clothes and she can't speak Indonesian," she said.
The jail, near the Balinese capital Denpasar, was built for 366 prisoners, but holds 525. Among them are the Bali bombers.
The "Smiling Assassin" Amrozi - so-called because he laughed when punished for his role in killing 88 Australians - has yelled abuse at Corby as she tried to exercise.
Kerobokan prison doctor Anak Agung Gede Hartawan said common diseases included respiratory ailments and skin conditions, while many prisoners complained of headaches.
AIDS/HIV was rife, because corrupt officials turned a blind eye to drug abuse - indeed they are implicated in supplying them.
Dr Hartawan said 11 prisoners were confirmed carriers of HIV/AIDS, but dozens more were thought to have the virus.
Corby shares her 5m-wide cell with seven other women.
She will be forced to wash with a small bucket of untreated water and a ladle.
The squat toilet is near the food preparation area and the risk of contracting gastric disease is high.
For up to 20 hours a day she will be confined to her cell, where she will sleep on a mat on a tiled floor under a fluorescent light that is never switched off.
Chief judge Linton Sirait defended the guilty verdict, dismissing public angst the decision has caused.
"I am responsible for my verdict to the God, not to the people."
Corby's mother Rosleigh had screamed after the verdict that the judges would lose sleep over their decision, but yesterday Judge Sirait said he had slept "very well last night".
He said had not let Corby's emotion influence the decision.
"A judge is not allowed to bring his emotion to the case, so the judge decides in accordance to the law," he said.
Corby's family last night issued a statement appealing to Australians to continue visiting Bali.
"Do not boycott Bali. We don't want the Balinese people to hurt any more," it said.
"We just want the Australian people to boycott Qantas flights and direct your anger at Jakarta.
"Thank you to all the Australian people for their support. We are not finished yet."
Corby's brother Michael feared his sister might try to take her own life.
"She'd be thinking of killing herself," he said.
"She's been strong up until now, believing justice will prevail. But now . . . she's not going to cope."
Corby's Australian lawyer said it was likely they would accept the Australian Government's offer of legal assistance.
Solicitor Robin Tampoe said any assistance from Perth QCs Tom Percy and Mark Trowell, experts in appeals and Indonesian law, would be welcome.
The Australian Government had urged the Corby defence team to accept the pro bono offer.
Mr Percy yesterday warned that Corby risked having her jail term extended to life if the defence team appealed.
But criminologist Professor Paul Wilson, who testified in favour of Corby during the trial, said a win was not out of the question.
"It will be extremely difficult, but not impossible," he said.
If she's guilty, she's guilty. As I think I noted, I'm not familiar with the details, but I'd hate to be accused, much less convicted if I were innocent. It just scares me because I have a young adult daughter who travels in Asia, and I'd hate to see her caught up in something like this. Fortunately, she travels light and only does carry-on. Also, fortunately, Indonesia isn't on the itinerary any time soon.
Just as you were not defending the 20 yr sentence, I was not defending the 6. Perhaps extend the benefit of the doubt next time.
>You don't need to be a drug user to be a drug peddlar.<
Yep.
I thought it was common knowledge that smuggling drugs in SE Asia is a death sentence.
All-inclusive vacations on Jamaica are very nice. You stay on a guarded compound and all food and drink is already paid for.
The punishment seems way to extreme to me also, but I am an American...where, there seems to be some semblance of common sense when charging and punishing people like her...
Like someone else posted---where is Bianca Jagger and Amnesty International? I want them to go to the poobahs in Indonesia and spout some of the crap they are spouting here in the USA!!!
They want the whole Bush Administration tried for war crimes, because of Gitmo, but if you heard Gen. Myers on Fox Sunday this morning, the lengths that America has gone to, to accomodate Muslim TERRORISTS is ridiculous, and yet those groups are ready to string Bush up!!!!
HER CRIME IS:Her true crime (guilty of smuggling or just a dupe) is the choice to visit a country with absurd penalties for banal crimes. and corrupt Gov officials;
I posted that I did not agree with her punishment also..but we cannot protect anyone from being stupid- travel to the 3rd world at your own risk a 20 something air head found out it's what you don't know that kills you
Indonesia is insane. Don't visit. It's a hotbed of Islam. I'm surprised they didn't genitally mutilate her like Islamics do all over the world.
Perhaps. :-}
... in somewhat humane, and usually survivable conditions.
The secret compartment was planted! ;-)
I hate to seem harsh but I don't feel any more sympathy for this stupid woman than I did for that American kid that got caned in China a few years ago. They have laws and they were broken. So now pay the penalty what ever it is. Even if having the drugs was a death penalty, duhhhh, don't deal in drugs and you have anything to fear.
Sounds good to me. 20 years for a couple of kilos, might be a little light sentence, although the prison sounds fairly tough. I would like to see US drug smugglers get at least that much considering how nice our prisons are.
I'd ask the moderator to pull that post if I were you.
..keep in mind, PR has a free PR movement, sHilllary's fiends got a "get out of jail free" (pardon for votes) card in 1999/2000...back in 1988, we were told to "keep our heads down", a few attacks were reported in the Commonwealth that year.
They already do.
Not just Singapore. Other countries with the death penalty for drug offences are Malaysia, Vietnam, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Brunei.
Life in Prison.
Lucky for her she wasn't caught in the USA.
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