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Corby has final appeal rejected |
Schapelle Corby has had her final appeal for a sentence reduction rejected by the Indonesian Supreme Court.
Court officials are yet to make the formal announcement, however they are tonight expected to confirm that Corby will be required to complete a 20-year jail sentence for drug smuggling.
The former Queensland beautician was caught trying to import just over 4 kilograms of marihuana into Bali's Denpasar Airport in August 2004.
Through a series of appeals, Corby has failed in her bid to reduce the overall jail sentence.
Recent speculation has pointed to the possibility that Schapelle Corby may be transferred to an Australian prison, where she would serve out the remaining time in her sentence.
With the sentence confirmed as 20-years, Corby is now likely to be in prison until at least 2020.
Schapelle Corby Case Information
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Court rejects Corby's final appeal |
March 28, 2008
Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected Schapelle Corby's final appeal against her 20-year sentence for drug trafficking, says a court source.
The source said the court had rejected the judicial review, with the decision to be officially announced in Jakarta later Friday.
Corby is serving 20 years in jail for trafficking 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali.
The judicial review was Corby's last legal avenue to have her sentence overturned.
The only other avenue is a plea for clemency to Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
Bali prosecutor Wiswantanu, who opposed the appeal during hearings in Denpasar District Court in August 2006, said he was not surprised by the decision.
"There was no new evidence so it's normal if the Supreme Court decision is like that," he said.
"(My feelings) are casual. In handling cases we are not looking for winning or losing, we are just seeking the truth.
"If the truth is like that (in the case), it will stay that way (in the appeal)."
Corby's lawyer Erwin Siregar said he had heard about the decision, but declined to comment until he had further details of the court's ruling.
"I know that, but for the time being I'm not going to give a comment yet, because I haven't seen the sentence yet," he said.
"I've heard that my extraordinary appeal was rejected but no comment yet from me."
The former beauty student has always said she was innocent, and insists she did not know about the 4.1kg of marijuana found in her boogie board bag when she flew into Bali's airport in October 2004.
Corby's judicial review appeal, which included hearings she attended in Denpasar District Court, claimed she was the innocent victim of baggage handlers involved in moving drugs around Australia.
The 19-page document setting out the appeal also claimed mistakes and discrepancies by the judges who convicted her.
Her lawyers argued she should have been acquitted because judges did not properly distinguish between importing, owning and using marijuana.
The document said prosecutors could only prove that she was in possession of the drugs, but not that she was importing it.
Corby's lawyers also argued the sentence was too harsh, compared to punishments handed down for similar offences elsewhere in Indonesia.
Corby's stint in Bali's Kerobokan Prison has been surrounded by controversy, including claims aired on Australian television recently that she had dined out with her sister in a Bali restaurant. Corby denied the reports.
Another court source said it was a unanimous decision, made during a meeting of the three Supreme Court judges in Jakarta on Friday morning (Jakarta time).
"It was a unanimous decision, (with) no dissenting opinion," he said.
"To have a judicial review granted is very difficult unless there is clear new evidence or unless there is an obvious mistake by the judges."
Schapelle Corby Case Information
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