Legal Commentary

Schapelle Corby: Six Years in an Indonesian Prison

By Jeralyn

Six years ago today, Schapelle Corby was arrested at the airport in Bali when authorities found 4 kilos of marijuana in her boogie board case. She was en route from her home in Australia to visit her sister Mercedes, who lives in Bali with her husband and children.

I've been writing about her case since the news of her arrest first surfaced here in 2005. She has always maintained her innocence, and believes that a ring of corrupt airport baggage handlers put the pot in her suitcase.

The day police allege a Sydney drug ring brought almost 10 kilograms of cocaine through Sydney Airport with the help of corrupt baggage handlers is the same day Schapelle Corby flew to Bali from the same airport.

Schapelle is serving a 20 year sentence in Kerobokan Prison, widely known as a hellhole. Doctors say she has become mentally ill -- childlike -- during her six years in prison. She's being treated with anti-psychotic medication. [More...]

Even the Australian Government is now backing her clemency bid.

A book is coming out soon with details of an alleged Qantas coverup of the baggage handler drug ring. From the site:

“AFP involved in drug smuggling: ex-detective

The Australian Federal Police have in the past failed to properly investigate allegations of drug trafficking at airports because serving police officers have been involved in the practice, a former senior AFP detective claims.

Ray Cooper, former head of operations for the AFP's internal investigations, told the Nine Network it was well known by the AFP that unwitting passengers were being used as `mules' to shift drugs between Australian domestic airports.

And he said his investigations suggested some state and federal police were in league with the smugglers. ‘It was well known amongst the federal police that this particular operation and strategy was being adopted by criminals,’ Mr Cooper said.” - Sydney Morning Herald 8 May 2005

This message is being placed on ABC News Australia Facebook pages:

When is the ABC going to tell Australians about "Tom," the career criminal/QANTAS baggage handler (a long-time trafficker in marijuana and many other drugs), who was complicit in using the luggage of an innocent airline passenger to smuggle millions of dollars worth of cocaine into Australia, on the day Schapelle Corby flew? The Australian Government later indemnified him from all criminal charges, and paid him $800,000 to keep his mouth shut. Find out the shocking truth here, in this scorching new book, "The QANTAS Cover-Up":

Why is Schapelle still in jail? I happen to believe she was set up. But even if she wasn't, six years is too long.

Free Schapelle. Boycott Bali.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on October 08, 2010 (boomark / email).