|
 
Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! Please  login or  register to post messages and view our members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, encrypted messages, file attachments, board customizations, and much more!
|
 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
 Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4258777 - 06/05/05 03:53 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Downer plays down Corby death call
June 5, 2005 - thecouriermail.news.com.au
A PROTEST in Jakarta during which about 40 people demanded the death sentence for convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby would have no impact on her appeal, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
The protesters gathered outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta yesterday, carrying signs reading: "Corby, drug dealer, must die." Another placard read: "Intervention no! Australia is supplier of drugs."
Mr Downer said he did not think the protest would have any implications on Corby's appeal.
"It's an endeavour by some people, I don't know who they are, to try to put a counter view to the view that's been expressed very strongly in Australia," he said on Channel 9.
"But I wouldn't draw any conclusions from it one way or the other, I don't think it will have any impact."
Mr Downer also said a package containing white powder sent to Parliament House and a package that sparked a major terror scare at the Indonesian embassy last week could be linked to the Corby case.
He said commonsense pointed to a connection between the two packages and anger over Corby's 20-year jail term for drug smuggling in Bali.
Asked if there was a connection between the two packages of white powder and Corby, Mr Downer said: "There could be, yes, there could be.
"I'm not 100 per cent sure, of course, as is the case with the package that was sent to the Indonesian embassy.
"But the two packages could be connected with each other, and they could be connected with the Corby case.
"Commonsense leads you to conclude that these incidents are connected with that case."
Indonesia's Canberra embassy was locked down on Wednesday following the delivery of a threatening letter containing white powder, while a package containing white powder addressed to Mr Downer forced officials to isolate mail room staff at Parliament House in Canberra on Friday.
Mr Downer said police had some indication about where the package sent to him had come from, but he wouldn't elaborate.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4259813 - 06/05/05 12:20 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Flashy Jakarta lawyer joins Corby team
June 6, 2005 - theaustralian.news.com.au
A GUNSLINGING Jakarta lawyer, who reportedly owns 60 houses and 15 luxury cars and often wears a diamond necklace worth $200,000, has joined the Schapelle Corby defence team.
Hotman Paris Hutapea was retained on Friday following checks by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said Vasu Rasiah, an adviser to Corby's Indonesian legal team.
Mr Hutapea originally approached the department with an offer to work on the Corby case pro bono. It is understood he offered not only his services for free, but to cover all his own expenses.
West Australian lawyer Mark Trowell QC, who was asked by the Howard Government to work on Corby's appeal, said the DFAT checks on Mr Hutapea were "basic" and confirmed his status as a senior lawyer.
Mr Trowell, along with fellow Perth QC Tom Percy, was approached by Attorney-General Philip Ruddock to work on the Corby case. The Perth QCs, like Mr Hutapea, will be working for free.
Mr Trowell, who met the Corby family in Bali yesterday, tried to hose down reports of a rift between the jailed 27-year-old's Australian and Indonesian lawyers.
After his meeting with the family, Mr Trowell admitted there had been "prickly relations" between the Perth QCs and the Indonesian team.
"They perhaps (thought) we were trying to muscle in on their case," he said.
The Indonesian lawyers had declared they would not work with any of her legal supporters who used the media to criticise one another.
Without naming the Perth QCs, who publicly criticised Ron Bakir, Corby's main financial backer, Mr Rasiah warned that any lawyers or backers whose criticisms were quoted in the media would be dropped from the case.
"If there's any slanging match in the media, we won't work with them any more," the lawyer said.
Unsure yesterday whether Mr Hutapea's appointment had been finalised, Mr Trowell said either Mr Hutapea or another top-flight Jakarta lawyer would handle the substance of Corby's appeal.
Mr Trowell said neither he nor Mr Percy were legally permitted to practise law in Indonesia, and admitted they had little direct experience of the Indonesian legal system.
His meeting with the Corby family yesterday was successful, Mr Trowell said, and he had managed to allay the fears of Schapelle's father, Michael Corby, and her elder sister Mercedes.
Flashing jewels on both hands, the high-profile Jakarta lawyer said John Howard had to do some serious lobbying on Corby's behalf, but quietly, the way Indonesians would.
"They don't have to do it openly, they can do it in a very hidden way," he said.
"Under the law, the judiciary and executive are totally separate, but the reality of life is they still appreciate each other."
Asked whether money would be a factor in the appeal, Mr Hotman baulked for a moment and then explained. "It's unethical if I say something bad about my court, although you know the answer. Everything is possible."
Edited by veggie (06/06/05 11:51 AM)
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4262609 - 06/06/05 02:32 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Prisoner exchange not easy for Indonesia
June 6, 2005 - smh.com.au
Officials from the foreign affairs and attorney-general's departments are expected to arrive in Indonesia today for talks on a prisoner transfer agreement.
Indonesia may have to change its domestic laws to enable agreement with Australia on a prisoner-exchange treaty, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock says.
Officials from the foreign affairs and attorney-general's departments are expected to arrive in Indonesia on Monday and will be closely followed by a parliamentary delegation.
The treaty would allow Australians convicted in Indonesian courts, such as jailed drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, to serve their time in Australia.
Mr Ruddock said Australia already had laws in place to allow for prisoner exchange, but Indonesia did not.
"The final implementation ... of any agreement in relation to prisoner transfer requires domestic laws to enable the implementation not only of the agreement but of the arrangements to give effect to such an agreement," Mr Ruddock told reporters.
"In Australia we have laws dealing with prisoner exchange and so we don't have to pass any legislation if we enter into a new agreement.
"More challenging for Indonesia is that they will still need to put in place, I suspect, legislation to implement any agreement."
A draft treaty had already been sent to Indonesian officials, but there was "no certainty" they would respond immediately to it, the attorney-general said.
"I would like that to be the case, but I suspect that in relation to the advice that's been given to me, that it will be discussions that will canvass the range of issues you can include in such agreements and clarify ... what are the implications of the draft," Mr Ruddock said.
Meanwhile, QC Mark Trowell flew to Bali to meet Corby's family and legal team this week and advise them on appealing against her sentence.
Mr Trowell met Corby in her jail cell this morning and discussed the legal options she has for an appeal.
He says Corby gave him several messages for the Australian public.
"She asked all Australians to think very carefully about how they responded to her situation," he said.
"She said that adverse criticism or anti-Indonesian hysteria made life very hard for her inside prison.
He added: "The Indonesians are a very proud race and they take offence at comments they think are calculated to offend them and that doesn't help her at all.
"It makes life very difficult for her inside. They see her, she's there, she becomes the focus of their criticism."
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4267210 - 06/07/05 09:56 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Corby deal 'possible, months away'
June 7, 2005 - heraldsun.news.com.au
INDONESIA may agree to a prisoner swap that will allow convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby to serve time in Australia, but any deal is months away, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade said after talks in Jakarta today.
Corby could be repatriated, along with 14 other Australians, if the deal went ahead, Bruce Bilson said after talking to Indonesian officials.
The agreement, which would also result in the transfer of 30 Indonesians, could help to cool tempers in Australia, where there has been a huge outcry at Corby's plight, sparking threats against Indonesia's diplomatic missions.
"It is too early to pre-empt what the nature of that agreement may be, but the discussions are proceeding and we think that a bilateral prisoners exchange arrangement is in the interests of both Indonesia and Australia," Mr Billson said.
The possibility of an exchange treaty was floated at the height of Corby's trial for smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali – a crime for which she was sentenced to 20 years.
Mr Billson said he held "brief" talks with Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, on the Corby case.
"At this stage it is a discussion between officials to see how to best carry forward our shared hope of having a prisoner exchange agreement into the earliest opportunity," he said.
"I would not suggest it would take years but it would take a good number of months."
|
Starter
Registered: 05/16/03
Posts: 923
Loc: Australia
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4270578 - 06/08/05 02:30 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Schapelle's song...
Don't blame it on the sunshine
Don't blame it on the airline
Don't blame it on the Bali Nine
Blame it on the Boogie
--------------------
Convert Metric and Imperial.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4271057 - 06/08/05 09:19 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Prisoners' testimony crucial for Corby
June 9, 2005 - smh.com.au
The flamboyant new Jakarta lawyer recruited by Schapelle Corby's legal team says his first move will be to send an appeal for help to the Prime Minister, John Howard.
Hotman Paris Hutapea said support from the Australian Government was essential to persuade Bali's High Court to order an extra hearing into Corby's case. This, he said, was Corby's best hope of being acquitted of her drug smuggling conviction on appeal.
Lawyers for Corby decided on Tuesday night to retain Mr Hutapea, who is famous for a string of legal victories that have brought him vast wealth and close contacts with Indonesian leaders.
Mr Hutapea said the letter to Mr Howard would also be sent to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Bali High Court, where Corby's appeal will be held, and the Indonesian Supreme Court, which could hear a second appeal.
After reading the court documents, Mr Hutapea said he wanted the Australian Government to find two prisoners, known only as Paul and Terry, whom a third prisoner, John Patrick Ford, has said he heard discussing the real owner of the marijuana found in Corby's luggage. These prisoners must be brought to Bali and appear at a special extra hearing, or be allowed to give evidence by video link, for Corby to have a chance of winning her appeal.
"John Howard has to get the men to Bali … We need the support of the Australian people to put pressure on the Prime Minister to make sure Paul and Terry, and airport officials, are allowed to testify," Mr Hutapea said.
The Government should indemnify the prisoners from prosecution if they needed to give evidence that incriminated them, he said.
If these unidentified prisoners did not testify, Mr Hutapea said Corby was in serious danger of having her sentence increased. "This is the only chance … this is a matter of life or death," he said.
To help convince the High Court to hold an extra hearing, Mr Hutapea said he had recruited Osman Simanjuntak, a former senior director in the attorney-general's office who now trains public prosecutors, and Albert Nadeak, a former prosecutor now working for a law firm.
A senior lawyer on Corby's team, Erwin Siregar, confirmed the decision to write to Mr Howard to bring "Paul and Terry" to the court, along with baggage handlers from Brisbane and Sydney airports who were on duty on October 8, when Corby flew to Bali.
Corby's legal team will also ask Mr Howard to support their request to send the check-in staff who were on duty when Corby left Australia.
Mr Siregar said the letter was expected to be sent last night.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4274715 - 06/09/05 02:42 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
The "tit for tat" embassy scares continue to escalate...
Australia scare closes embassies
June 9, 2005 - BBC
Several embassies in the Australian capital closed on Thursday, after they received suspicious packages.
The British High Commission, and the US, Japanese, Italian and South Korean embassies were shut down, but the UK mission has now reopened.
Part of the parliament was also closed for the second time in a week after a package of white powder was received.
The Indonesian embassy has twice received such packages, but tests showed that the material was harmless.
"ACT (Australian Capital Territory) policing has received reports of suspicious packages at a number of foreign missions and parliament house... the packages have been secured," a police spokesman told Reuters.
The BBC understands that the powder sent to the British High Commission was harmless.
Last week, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer received a similar package addressed to him at parliament.
Tests revealed the powder to be non-toxic.
Australian authorities have linked the packages sent to the Indonesian embassy with public anger at the jailing of a 27-year-old Australian woman for smuggling drugs into Bali.
The case of Schapelle Corby, who was given a 20-year sentence, generated huge public sympathy in Australia, with many people convinced of her innocence.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4275355 - 06/09/05 10:13 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Schapelle Corby Tragedy Resounds Around the Globe
June 9, 2005 - Drug Policy Alliance News
The world has joined Australians in the outcry over the recent 20-year sentence handed down to Schapelle Corby, a 27-year-old Aussie woman arrested after Indonesian airport officials found 9 pounds of marijuana in her bag. Since Corby's arrest in October 2004, Australian investigations have confirmed reports of a drug-smuggling operation at one airport and Corby's defense presents this as explanation as to why the drugs were found in her bag. Yet Corby's lawyers were unable to introduce this and other evidence in the Indonesian court where she was tried - information that many think would have absolved her of a guilty verdict as a victim of trafficking gone awry. Indonesian prosecution pushed for the death penalty according to the Southeast Asian country's strict drug laws, but the three-judge panel instead gave a then-hopeful Corby 20 years in prison.
Irrespective of her innocence or guilt, many have questioned Corby's stringent term that places her in the same prison as a convicted terrorist serving only two years for his crime of murdering 202 people in a bombing. The Alliance and other organizations are outraged that someone would be imprisoned for 20 years for transporting marijuana, which hundreds of millions of people consume with little or no ill effects, is used for medicinal purposes for people suffering from life-threatening ailments, and is practically legal in some countries.
What happened to Schapelle Corby is a tragedy, and it's been heartening to see the Australian and international community's mobilization around reforming draconian drug laws, but this case is not unique. Indonesia is not much different from other countries in which harsh, inhumane sentences are handed down for nonviolent drug offenses. An extreme example is China, where once a year a public execution of people convicted of drug offenses takes place marking the UN’s International Anti-Drug Day. And right here in the U.S., where half of all drug arrests are for marijuana, there are between 50,000 and 100,000 people behind bars at this moment for marijuana related offenses. As a specific example, in Alabama, people can spend 15 years in prison for a third marijuana conviction.
The statistics are outrageous and Corby is not alone in her disproportionate punishment. But the international community's focus on her case serves to draw attention to the need for reform in drug policy. As the world watches her unjust condemnation unfold from afar, let her story and the unheard stories of hundreds of thousands of other people affected by the drug war incite people to action.
|
Trav
Registered: 06/09/05
Posts: 1,773
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4277989 - 06/09/05 10:14 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
The whole situation is fucked. I just read a lot of these articles for the first time although I had heard about the incident to a certain degree. Thanks for keeping the latest news in one spot Veggie.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4282915 - 06/11/05 09:33 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Winning appeal unrealistic
June 12, 2005 - theage.com.au
Schapelle Corby's Indonesian lawyers appear to have based their hopes for winning an appeal against her 20-year drug conviction on an unrealistic request.
It seems they want the Federal Government to find the person they claim is the real owner of the drugs.
Sources told The Sunday Age that letters sent by Corby's team to Justice Minister Chris Ellison had also asked for substantial financial assistance on top of the $100,000 already given.
One of the letters, signed by defence team co-ordinator Vasu Rasiah, asks the Government to "produce the owner of the marijuana", and to "produce the person who put the drugs in Corby's bag".
Sources said the request was "not realistic", as an investigation by Queensland police and the federal police had failed to find any evidence to support the existence of either person.
Tensions have also flared in the Corby camp between the Perth QC, Mark Trowell - recommended by the Government to help - and the Indonesian team.
Mr Trowell said yesterday he had been handed an unsigned "draft" letter as he got on the plane to leave Bali last Monday after visiting Corby in jail, but said it was not in a form he could give to the Government.
He expressed his frustration that it took until Friday afternoon, when Mr Rasiah and mobile phone salesman Ron Bakir unexpectedly turned up at his Perth office, for him to receive a formal letter, which he immediately passed on.
"It was on the eve of a long weekend, and the appeal is due to be lodged on Tuesday," he told The Sunday Age. "I expressed my frustration with the slowness of it to Vasu.
"As yet, I've not seen any grounds of appeal, nor have I seen an English translation of the judges' decision or a transcript of the trial."
Corby's lawyers have also asked the Government to help them bring to Bali the airport staff who were working on October 8 last year, the day she was arrested.
They have also asked for the names of baggage handlers on duty in Sydney and Brisbane.
Among other requests, they want closed-circuit TV film from customs, Qantas and the airports, and the baggage weights of Corby's luggage.
They have also asked for a copy of the secret customs report leaked two weeks ago that said baggage handlers with high-security clearance were involved in airport drug smuggling.
One letter from lawyer Lily Lubis arrived at Senator Ellison's office last Wednesday, and the second letter, from Mr Rasiah, arrived two days later.
Senator Ellison has told Ms Lubis that the Government would assist where possible, and indicated he was likely to support any request from the Indonesian Government to bring airport staff to Bali to testify.
The Government arranged in March for a Victorian prisoner, John Patrick Ford, to go to Bali. He had claimed to know who owned the drugs, and said Corby was an innocent victim of a drug-smuggling syndicate.
Senator Ellison said customs did not have any tapes of Corby, but he had asked them to check again.
In relation to the secret customs report, he said it was classified, but a private briefing would be given to Mr Trowell.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4289145 - 06/12/05 09:52 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Corby's legal team recruits soap star
June 13, 2005 - stuff.co.nz
Schapelle Corby's legal team has recruited one of Indonesia's best-known television soap starlets in an effort to get Indonesians to support the Queensland woman the way many Australians have.
The latest recruit to the Corby defence team, Anisa Tri Hapsari, was unveiled to a media conference yesterday packed with reporters from the television stations best known for their celebrity gossip and soap operas.
Corby's Jakarta lawyer, Hotman Hutapea, said he had employed Hapsari because the view of the Indonesian public would be critical in determining the outcome of Corby's appeal against her 20-year sentence for drug smuggling.
"The public's view will affect the decision of the court," Mr Hutapea said as he explained Hapsari's job would be to work as an information officer who could convince ordinary Indonesians of the huge doubts about Corby's guilt.
"The public's view is important because usually Indonesian judges are reluctant to give a decision that's contrary to the public's view," Mr Hutapea said.
Corby's Balinese lawyer, Lily Lubis, agreed it was important to get the public onside if they were to convince the judges to acquit her client.
As well as her roles in numerous television dramas, Hapsari is known around the country for her broken marriage and bitter child custody dispute with a grandson of former president Soeharto.
Mr Hutapea said he planned to go to Bali to visit Corby today or tomorrow and then file the Gold Coast woman's appeal sometime before the end of business tomorrow.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4290359 - 06/13/05 07:52 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Bali prosecutors lodge Corby appeal
June 13, 2005 - abc.net.au
Prosecutors in Bali have formally asked for an increase in the sentence handed to convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby.
Corby was sentenced to 20 years jail and fined for carrying 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia in her bodyboard bag.
The prosecutors have appealed to the High Court of Denpasar against the leniency of the sentence, saying Corby has having been involved in a "transnational crime".
The appeal in part states that drug importation is a great danger to life, the community and the nation, and that the perpetrators of this form of transnational crime have to be punished with a severe penalty.
The defence team is expected to file its appeal tomorrow.
Unless it succeeds in its planned request for hearings to be reopened, the appeal could be resolved behind closed doors within a month or so.
The defence has added an Indonesian soap star, Anisa Tri Hapsari, to its team.
Working under recently hired Jakarta commercial lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, she will act as an information officer to try to persuade ordinary Indonesians of Corby's innocence.
Mr Hutapea says the Hapsari campaign may help persuade the judges, who are usually reluctant to go against public opinion.
"Her high-profile label will be to help convince people that Corby is not guilty," he said.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4294592 - 06/14/05 09:33 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Corby's lawyers lodge appeal
June 14, 2005 - abc.net.au
Lawyers for Schapelle Corby have lodged their appeal to the Denpasar High Court, asking that the convicted drug smuggler be freed and her human rights and dignity restored.
Corby's defence team has requested new hearings so that the judges can hear from a range of witnesses before making a decision.
The lawyers have sought an interim decision from appeals judges on their request for an opportunity to produce further evidence in court.
Attached to the appeal lodged today by Jakarta commercial lawyer Hotman Hutapea is a list of requests.
The defence team wants a Bali court to hear from airport check-in staff, security and Customs officials, as well as Bali's top drugs policeman.
It also wants to present men named only as 'John' and 'Terry' by Victorian prisoner John Ford.
The list also includes Ronny Vigenza, the man Ford says owned the marijuana in Corby's bag but who has already denied the claim.
Beyond that, the 20-page appeal offers little that was not argued at the original trial.
It instead insists that judges and prosecutors erred because they did not prove ownership of the drugs in the bag, did not properly consider defence witnesses and failed to prove any intent on Corby's part.
The appeal comes a day after prosecutors lodged their own appeal against Corby's 20-year jail term and fine.
The prosecutors are hoping to have the sentence increased to a life term.
Although Corby's appeal has been lodged, Australian QCs enlisted by the Federal Government to help prepare it say they have not seen the document.
Mark Trowell QC says the Indonesian legal team never really gave the Australian lawyers a part to play in the preparations.
But the head of Corby's defence team, Vasu Rasiah, says the Australian lawyers were given a role to play in trying to obtain information they want from the Australian Government.
Mr Rasiah says the Indonesian legal team is capable of preparing the appeal and he does not want to get involved in petty politics.
"We are not interested in responding, we are only interested preparing the appeal for Schapelle Corby and doing what is best for her," Mr Rasiah said.
Mr Trowell has also questioned the professionalism of the Indonesian team, after it enlisted the help of a soapie star.
"It wouldn't work here and I don't think it's going to work in Indonesia," he said.
"It's insulting to the Indonesian judges to think that they would be affected by public opinion rather than basing their decision on the actual evidence."
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4297725 - 06/15/05 12:34 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
How I'll save Schapelle
June 15, 2005 - dailytelegraph.news.com.au
SCHAPELLE Corby's lawyers yesterday issued a list of 12 witnesses and pieces of evidence they want to call to show she is innocent.
In a 21-page appeal lodged in Bali yesterday, celebrity Jakarta lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea said the case relied on the Australian Government getting the witnesses to Bali.
The defence team's appeal asked the Denpasar High Court for what is known as Putusan Sela – or for the case to be re-opened in the District Court, where it was originally heard.
The extra evidence they want includes two Victorian prisoners who were overheard in jail allegedly saying the drugs were planted in Corby's unlocked body board bag by mistake and that the owner of the 4.1kg of marijuana is Ronnie Vigenza.
Prisoner John Patrick Ford was brought from Australia to recount this conversation at the original trial, however the three judges disregarded his evidence.
The two unnamed prisoners, and Mr Vigenza, have already told Australian police they know nothing about the claims.
People the defence wants made available include:
THE officer in charge of luggage check-in at Brisbane airport and the officer in charge of CCTV cameras at Brisbane and Sydney airports;
THE customs chief from Brisbane airport;
THE chiefs of baggage handling at Brisbane, Sydney and Bali airports and with Australian Airlines;
A CCTV officer and the results from Bali airport on the day;
BALI'S drug squad chief; and
A LEGAL expert who was has said in the Indonesian press that, just because the drugs were in Corby's bag, it did not mean the law of importation kicked in.
The defence also wants the plastic vacuum-sealed bags which contained the drugs to be fingerprinted – something which was never done at the time of arrest.
Mr Hutapea said Corby's fate now rested with the Australian Government: "The fate of Corby right now is very much depend on the co-operation of the Australian Government.
"If your Government promise that they can bring the witnesses, I don't see any reason for the High Court to say no."
Asked if these demands were realistic, he replied: "Ask John Howard, not ask me."
The Denpasar High Court now has 150 days to make a decision on the appeal.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4297739 - 06/15/05 12:39 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Tourists defy Bali boycott call
June 15, 2005 - theaustralian.news.com.au
AUSTRALIAN tourists appear to be ignoring calls for a boycott of Bali in protest at the 20-year jail sentence handed out to Schapelle Corby for smuggling marijuana.
Garuda Indonesia today announced an extra flight from Sydney and Brisbane to Denpasar, bringing the weekly total to five and increasing weekly seats by 146 to 1318.
A total of 20,960 Australians visited Bali in April, with nearly 80,000 during the first four months of the year.
Figures for May - the month in which Corby was sentenced, followed by Bali boycott calls from her supporters - are expected to continue to rise and Garuda said 2005 promised to be a record year.
"Consistently strong bookings demonstrate the continued affection that Australians have for Bali," the general manager of Garuda Indonesia Australia/USA, Suranto Yitnopawiro, said today.
"Australian high-end and budget travellers alike are holidaying in Bali in record numbers and reaping the benefits of a strong Aussie dollar, which buys 7,300 rupiah in Bali."
Apart from the beach attractions at Kuta and elsewhere, Bali shops offered great bargains especially in clothing, restaurant meals and taxis, he said.
Garuda's new flight, using a wide-bodied A330 jet, departs Sydney on Fridays at 8am, flying via Brisbane to arrive at Denpasar at 2.40pm local time.
The extra southbound flight leaves Denpasar for Sydney at 11.05pm on Thursdays, arriving in Sydney at 6.35am.
Lawyers for Corby yesterday lodged a 21-page document with the Bali High Court calling for her conviction and 20-year jail sentence to be cancelled and for the 27-year-old to be be freed from Bali's Kerobokan prison.
Three high court judges now have 60 days to decide her appeal, but can extend that by another 30 days.
If they agree to reopen her trial, new evidence would be heard by the same Denpasar District Court that last month sentenced Corby to 20 years in jail.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4299332 - 06/15/05 12:34 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Silks 'at odds' with Corby's legal team
June 16, 2005 - theadvertiser.news.com.au
RELATIONS between Schapelle Corby's Indonesian legal team and two Australian silks referred to the case by the Government have collapsed.
Celebrity Jakarta lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea, who recently joined the Indonesian team, said yesterday the two Australians had done nothing to help.
"If they really want to help they should come to Bali and sit together with the local lawyers because criminal cases are so complicated," Mr Hutapea said.
Perth QC Mark Trowell hit back, saying the Indonesian team should concentrate on the case, not soap operas.
He rejected criticism from the Indonesian team that he and fellow QC Tom Percy had not done enough for Corby, saying they had been severely constrained in what they could do because they had been given little information.
"It would seem the only person being forgotten in all of this is Schapelle Corby," Mr Trowell said.
"We don't give a hoot about her Indonesian lawyers but we do care for her."
|
 SuperD
THE SPIRIT OFTRUTH
Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 2,452
Loc: TX
Last seen: 7 hours, 16 minutes
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4299630 - 06/15/05 01:48 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
<<"The public's view is important because usually Indonesian judges are reluctant to give a decision that's contrary to the public's view," Mr Hutapea said.>>
Wow..yeah..let's forget all about evidence and everything relevant to any given court case. Why can't our government think along the same lines as some of these judges do?
--------------------
I'd like you to meet my local drug dealer 
Bruce Campbell for a day! said: Go misidentify a mushroom please.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4304761 - 06/16/05 05:25 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Corby appeal doomed - prosecutors
June 16, 2005 - theaustralian.news.com.au
INDONESIAN prosecutors are confident Schapelle Corby's appeal against her 20-year sentence for drug trafficking will fail and that judges will reject the defence team's demand that her trial be reopened.
The wish list of new witnesses and evidence in the defence appeal was irrelevant to the 27-year-old Gold Coast woman's case, lead prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantanu said.
"I think their request won't be fulfilled by the High Court judges because there's nothing different to what was put forward in the first trial," he said.
Mr Wiswantanu also revealed he was receiving hate mail from Australia almost every day, saying he was surprised at the indignant reaction to the verdict by the Australian public, which he saw as the result of trial by media.
"I think the people sending these letters are part of a syndicate of Corby's supporters, they are trying to intimidate me," he said.
"The Australians are angry with me, I get letters every day," he said, pointing to three unopened envelopes bearing Australian stamps on his desk that were waiting to be sent to a forensics laboratory to be tested for biological agents.
So far, none has tested positive.
Mr Wiswantanu said the witnesses sought by the defence would add nothing new to dispute the facts of the case.
"I think the judges will at least support the current decision, or increase it if they see the impact drugs have on Indonesian society," he said.
Corby's lawyers lodged their appeal on Tuesday, demanding a reopening of the trial to hear testimony from several new witnesses, including two Victorian prisoners identified during the trial only as "Terry and Paul".
Victorian remand prisoner John Patrick Ford testified in the trial that he had overheard the two joking about how the marijuana found in Corby's boogie board bag had been stashed in the bag by airport baggage handlers in Australia.
The court dismissed Mr Ford's evidence as hearsay.
The defence also wants to summon airport close circuit TV staff, Qantas check-in staff, Australian and Indonesian baggage handlers and Bali's top narcotics officer.
However, Mr Wiswantanu questioned why these testimonies had not presented during the original trial if they were so crucial to helping Corby prove her claim that 4.1kg of marijuana was planted in her luggage after she checked in at Brisbane airport last October 8.
"The Australian police and Government helped Corby a lot, and did their own investigations," he said.
"If they found an airport officer who put the drugs in her bag, there must be a verdict in Australia before he can be summoned here to give evidence."
Asked about his reaction to the defence team's recruitment of a soapie star and hotshot Jakarta lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea to lead the appeal, he laughed and said he did not expect anyone could disprove Corby's guilt.
Mr Wiswantanu, who has lodged his own appeal calling for Corby to be sentenced to life behind bars, expects to submit his response to the defence appeal by early next week.
Three High Court judges have an initial 60 days to make a decision but can extend this deadline if needed.
|
veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 6,480
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4305811 - 06/16/05 10:09 PM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
Police uncover Corby breakout plan
June 17, 2005 - heraldsun.news.com.au
AUSTRALIAN Federal Police are investigating a plan to recruit ex-soldiers to break Schapelle Corby out of jail in Bali.
A South Australian man is offering to pay crack ex-soldiers for weapons, false passports and expertise to bust Corby out of Indonesia and spirit her away to a secret location.
The man, Mark Streater, says he has the resources to fund the operation and has already secured recruits.
Mr Streater said the operation was "100 per cent do-able" and insisted it was genuine break-out plan.
"I have no doubt someone will get her out of the country," he said.
An AFP spokeswoman in Canberra said agents were now aware of the plan and were "assessing its implications".
Rumours of an attempted jail break first surfaced days after Corby was sentenced on May 27 to 20 years' jail for smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali.
Security was tightened around the grim Kerobokan Prison at Kuta, where the 27-year-old former Gold Coast beauty student is serving her sentence.
Mr Streater said he had nothing to do with those rumours and had, until now, managed to keep his campaign a secret.
He had placed an advertisement on a website for guerillas and mercenaries, asking for people interested in a rescue mission to contact him.
Corby is not mentioned by name.
But a would-be mercenary who responded to the advertisement said Mr Streater had told him it was a plan to release a woman called Schapelle Corby and take her to another location, probably in Asia.
He said it would not be possible to keep her in Australia because of extradition arrangements between the countries.
The would-be mercenary, who does not live in Australia, contacted the Herald Sun with details of the plan, unsuccessfully seeking payment for his story.
It is believed the organisers of the campaign toyed with the idea of hiring a plane but decided instead to look for a more discreet fishing vessel.
The plan was to get Corby out of Indonesia, by whatever means possible, then take her to Darwin and transfer her to Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia or Malaysia.
When asked by the Herald Sun, Mr Streater said he was the man behind the campaign.
He said he was motivated by a belief that Corby was innocent.
Mr Streater said he had also had problems with Customs and Australian Federal Police officers, some of whom he believed were responsible for smuggling drugs through Australian airports.
He would not say who his financial backers were, saying only that it was a businessman but not Gold Coast mobile phone re-seller Ron Bakir.
Mr Streater said his antipathy towards Customs and the AFP came after he was involved in a dispute when a collection of CDs he imported into Australia were damaged on their arrival.
He said Australia Post had agreed to pay 50 per cent of the damage but Customs had refused.
Mr Streater said he had later been convicted of making threats against a senior Customs official through abusive telephone messages, and had spent 10 days in the Alfred hospital's psychiatrist ward.
He said he had been contacted several times by an anonymous man who said some Customs and AFP officers were involved in drug smuggling through airports.
"I had recruited a couple of intelligence officers and some special forces," Mr Streater said.
|
ivi
Registered: 01/30/03
Posts: 8,763
Last seen: 1 day, 13 hours
|
Re: Schapelle Corby [Re: veggie]
#4306272 - 06/17/05 12:20 AM (3 years, 5 months ago) |
|
|
This thread 10 pages in the future:
Operation Corby Storm: Australian Troops Invade Indonesia
June X, 2005
--------------------
 Cornell Mushroom Blog
 Introduction to Fungal Biology
 Micro and Macro Photography
 Boa | |
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
