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Schapelle Corby 'could work her way free' |
By Karen Michelmore in Jakarta -
April 22, 2008
Potential leader ... Schapelle Corby is a very good prisoner, the outgoing head of her jail said.
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CONVICTED Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby may be up for a prison job that could shave years off the 20-year sentence she is serving in an Indonesian jail.
The outgoing head of Bali's Kerobokan Prison today said Corby should be made an inmates' leader - a role that could see up to 11 months cut from her sentence each year.
Corby, who last month lost her final appeal against her sentence, was a "very good" prisoner, Ilham Djaya said.
He said she should be considered for the role of Tamping, where she would lead a small group of prisoners, or the key role of Pemuka, who oversees the Tamping leaders.
Should Corby make the rank of Pemuka, she could be eligible for sentence cuts of up to 11 months every year, Mr Djaya said. Smaller remissions apply to Tamping leaders.
Mr Djaya offered his support for Corby despite the former Gold Coast beauty student's controversial stint at Kerobokan.
Since her detention almost four years ago for cannabis smuggling, Corby has written a book describing the prison as a "disgusting slum". She missed out on a sentence remission last year after she was found with a mobile phone in her cell.
And Corby recently emphatically denied reports, aired on Australian television, that she had been allowed out of the prison to dine with her sister at a Bali restaurant.
Mr Djaya praised Corby and Bali Nine heroin smuggler Renae Lawrence, who is also serving a 20-year term.
"Corby has a job to gather handicrafts from prisoners, like from sewing and knitting class, she has learned everything," Mr Djaya said.
"The handicrafts collected by Corby are then collected by the Buddhist association to be sold in the market."
He said the role of Pemuka would be good for long-term prisoners.
"For a long-term prisoner like Renae or Corby it would be very good to be a Pemuka," he said.
Mr Djaya described Lawrence as "extraordinary".
"She does her jobs very well," he said, adding that Lawrence had done everything from fixing taps to cleaning.
"Even the sewer, she is willing to clean it."
Mr Djaya was formally replaced today by incoming prison governor Yon Suharyono at a ceremony in the prison complex.
Corby's lawyer Erwin Siregar, who attended today's ceremony, told reporters he was yet to decide whether to seek clemency for the Australian from Indonesia's president.
He was also still considering whether to seek another final appeal, even though Indonesian law makes no provision for that.
Schapelle Corby Case Information
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I just want to go home, says Schapelle |
By Cindy Wockner -
April 23, 2008 03:15am
SCHAPELLE Corby fought back tears yesterday as she told how she wants to go home as soon as possible, joking with the departing Bali jail governor that she "would like to be leaving" with him.
It was the first time the 30-year-old has spoken publicly since her last ditch appeal was dismissed by Indonesia's highest court last month.
At a farewell ceremony for the popular jail boss Ilham Djaya, Corby's lawyer Erwin Siregar spoke with her briefly about the lost appeal and about the next steps in the fight to have her freed.
Corby's despair and tears at her failure to beat a 20-year jail sentence for possession of 4.1kg of marijuana came just a day after two highly ranked Jemaah Islamiah terrorist leaders were jailed for less time - 15 years - for possession of a massive cache of weapons and explosives to be used in terror attacks.
Later, as Corby lined up to say a personal farewell to Mr Djaya - who is being transferred to another jail - he kissed his most famous prisoner on each cheek, wishing her luck.
Asked by The Daily Telegraph how she felt about his departure, Corby joked with him: "I'd like to be leaving."
"I have a lot of respect for him, he does the job very well.
"It's not good being a prisoner here but he does the job very well."
She refused to talk about her own plight, declaring: "This is Pak (Mr) Ilham's day."
And she told Mr Djaya's wife to "look after him".
Mr Siregar vowed the fight to free Corby was not over and that he and Corby would never give up.
But he admitted his star client "was still very sad".
He said he needs to properly study the Supreme Court judgment before deciding the next step.
But he said "many people" contacted him with what could amount to the "new evidence" that would be needed to possibly lodge yet another appeal.
He would not talk about the substance of the information but said two options remained - another appeal or a plea to the Indonesian President for clemency but it was too early yet to decide.
He plans another meeting with Corby next week to discuss their options.
Mr Siregar said that after new evidence was uncovered the defence had 180 days in which to file an appeal.
At yesterday's farewell ceremony Corby was joined by the other female prisoner in Kerobokan jail, Bali Nine heroin courier Renae Lawrence.
The pair, who have not always shared a close bond, sat side by side during the ceremony, smiling and joking together.
Mr Djaya was full of praise for Lawrence, who he said was "a wonderful and extraordinary" prisoner who worked hard on cleanliness of the women's block and now held the position of a prisoner leader in charge of cleaning.
Corby too is a "tamping" in charge of handicrafts.
Mr Djaya affectionately touched Lawrence on both cheeks, telling her: "You look after the block, don't disappoint me."
Shortly before the ceremony Lawrence had been working to fix broken water pipes in the women's cell area.
Schapelle Corby Case Information
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