Sunday Times 2
Parole for Australian drug convict Corby
View(s):SYDNEY, Feb 8 (AFP) -Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop today welcomed the decision by Indonesia to parole drug trafficker Schapelle Corby and called for her privacy to be respected.
The 36-year-old, whose incarceration has fascinated the Australian public, was granted parole on Friday in Bali, where she was convicted and jailed for 20 years in 2005 for trying to smuggle marijuana into the tourist island.
Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby inside Kerobokan prison in Bali (AFP)
“The decision by Indonesia’s minister for law and human rights is welcomed,” said Bishop. Canberra had supported the parole application since it was lodged in October 2012.
“I understand that now the decision to grant parole has been made, it is a matter for the authorities to determine the time of the release but I hope that she’s now given some privacy as she gets her life back together,” she added.
This appears unlikely with her case attracting huge media attention and public scrutiny in Australia ever since she was sentenced and a million dollar bidding war now underway for her first post-jail interview.
Corby’s well-documented mental illness, steadfast proclamation of innocence and fight to be freed from the notorious Kerobokan prison earned her sympathy in Australia.
But the view in Indonesia is starkly different, where many see her as a common criminal who simply broke the country’s tough anti-drugs laws.
In an editorial on Saturday,the Indonesian language daily Media Indonesia labelled the beauty school dropout “the Marijuana Queen”.
“Any tolerance shown through leniency or granting parole is a deplorable act,” it said.