This website is dedicated to Schapelle Corby and has
been created in consultation with her family
|
Welcome to Schapelle Corby's Web Site |
'When I flew to Bali on 8 October 2004, I imagined my biggest problem was going to be deciding which sarong to wear with which bikini… - Schapelle Corby.
Schapelle Leigh Corby, a 27 year old Australian was traveling to Bali Indonesia to celebrate her sister's birthday. But her dream holiday ended up a waking nightmare when on October 8, 2004, Schapelle was arrested in the Denpassar airport after 4.2 kilograms of marijuana was found in her boogie-board bag.
Though completely innocent, Schapelle was forced to face the consequences of someone else's crime. Her fate would be decided on May 27 2005 in the Denpassar District Court.
Schapelle's trial and conviction became one of the biggest news stories of the decade in Australia. An entire nation watched in horror as she was sentenced to twenty years in jail. Despite legal appeals and a whole nation calling for her release, Schapelle Corby remains in the squalor of Kerobokan Prison [Bali]. Every day is a struggle for survival but Schapelle is determined in her fight for justice.
She steadfastly maintains her innocence!
Schapelle Corby is a kind and compassionate young woman, a loving sister, a loyal friend and faithful daughter. She does not deserve what's happened to her but will keep fighting against insurmountable odds until freedom is hers!
'I long to be free and live again outside these walls… I will never understand why this happened to me. Why my bag… Right now I'm empty, lost and numb... It's been so long since I've felt peaceful and happy. So long since I've smiled and laughed on the inside and out… I sound like a broken record but I will keep saying it: I'm innocent, I'm innocent, I'm innocent.' - Quotes from Schapelle's book 'My Story'.
'There is no chance, no fate, no destiny that can circumvent, or hinder, or control a firm resolve of a determined soul.' - Ella Wheeler Wilcox
|
Schapelle Corby paranoid, clutching doll in Kerobokan jail
|
Deteriorating ... Schapelle Corby is suffering depression while in an Indonesian jail. Picture: Lukman S Bintoro
|
SCHAPELLE Corby has become paranoid, unkempt and has been seen carrying a doll about her prison cell as her mental condition deteriorates.
Her mother, Rosleigh Rose, has flown from Australia to Bali to be with her daughter - the best medicine the convicted drug smuggler can have, according to her doctor.
The 31-year-old was taken from Kerobokan jail, where she is serving a 20-year sentence, to Denpasar's police hospital late on Friday and is being treated by a private psychiatrist arranged by her family.
Dr Danny Tong visited Corby for 15 minutes yesterday and said that while her condition was improving she was "very depressed" and was on medication, including anti-depressants.
"Her mother is here. This is the best medicine for anybody in the world," he said.
Ms Rose spent the night in the hospital on Saturday and was with Corby again yesterday, as was Corby's sister Mercedes and her children.
Click Here for full story
Schapelle Corby release hopes
|
|
I've lost hope of early release from Bali jail
|
SCHAPELLE Corby says she doesn't often think about the world outside her Bali jail and no longer has much hope she will soon be freed.
With tears welling during an exclusive interview outside her cell at Bali's Kerobokan Jail she told, however, how she still puts make-up on every day to make herself feel better.
And she showed the intricate beaded necklaces and bracelets she makes to fill in time and keep active and of her hopes that she may be allowed to run a beauty salon and courses inside the jail.
Now was granted rare access to the jail and to the women's block where Corby and fellow Australian, Renae Lawrence of the Bali Nine, are held.
There we found Corby dressed in an elegant long brown dress made by her sister, Mercedes, a sarong draped over her shoulders for the purposes of modesty and wearing make-up.
"You are not supposed to wear singlets," she says of the sarong covering her bare shoulders and back.
For the most part she was cheerful, talking about her ambition to run beauty classes at the jail and about how things have improved since she first got there but when we talked about how she is coping, her hopes for the future, her health and her feelings, Corby's eyes filled with tears and she struggled not to cry.
"I don't think about out there anymore," the 31-year-old said, in reference to the world outside the four walls of the jail.
Click Here for full story
Schapelle Corby's teary breakdown behind bars
|
|
Authors Rally Behind Schapelle Corby
|
Schapelle Corby’s mother Rosleigh Rose and best friends Alyth McComb and Katrina Richards (who both travelled to Bali with Schapelle on that fateful flight in 2004) have come together to send a message of support. Attending a book signing in Burleigh Heads on Queensland’s Gold Coast on November 29, the group wanted to reinforce their belief that Schapelle Corby should be released and allowed to return home.
Journalist Tony Wilson, who has covered the Corby case from when it first happened, was at the Wildraisin Café signing copies of his best selling book “Schapelle – The facts, the evidence, the truth”. Wilson’s new book tackles the stories and innuendo surrounding the case and establishes what is factual. Speaking to the group Tony said “We can’t give up, we must find a way to free this young woman. If in some small way my book helps to keep the issue before the public, then the hard work has been all worthwhile. We have to remember that in a few weeks, Schapelle will have spent her 5th Christmas Day in gaol – for a crime many of us believe she could not have committed”.
Tony Wilson’s book signing was part of an international campaign of supporters coming together to send messages of support to Schapelle. Kay Danes, author of Families Behind Bars said “Tony’s book is seen as a truly accurate and fair account of the Schapelle Corby case. This show of support was matched by groups around the world – including the UK, US, New Zealand and the UAE. All these supporters have gathered to have a photograph taken with the common theme ‘Free Schapelle’. These photographs will be sent to her as a show of strength”.
Click Here for full story
|
|
Corby's transfer request refused
|
The Justice and Human Rights Ministry has denied a prison transfer request by convicted Australian drug smuggler, Schapelle Leigh Corby.
The ministry said Corby had only served four years of the 20 year sentence.
"She'd probably have had her request granted if she had been in prison for 15 years," said Muhammad Indra, head of the ministry's office in Bali, as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com on Sunday.
Corby requested to be transferred from Kerobokan Penitentiary in Denpasar, to Bangli Penitentiary -- in the same city, but closer to the Australian Consulate General, citing mental health reasons.
Corby's lawyer Erwin Siregar said his client was depressed after the Supreme Court had rejected her final appeal in March. Corby was treated at Sanglah General Hospital for depression in July.
She was arrested in October 2004 upon arrival in Bali from Australia, and has been serving time ever since in Kerobokan Prison, the largest correctional facility on the island.
Corby was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison by Denpasar District Court, for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Bali in May 2005. (dre)
Click Here for full story
|
|
Free Schapelle Corby OnLine Petition Reaches Critical Numbers.
|
Setup some months ago in a move to encourage the Prime Minister of Australia to negotiate the release of Schapelle Corby, an on line petition has reached over 3000 signatures and is now growing rapidly.
Sponsored by www.freeschapelle.com.au\forum, the petition is hosted by Care2.
Organiser of the petition Mr. Neville Wright, says that Corby’s support movement with over 500 members feels that under Indonesia’s own laws, Ms Corby was not given the right of a fair trial, when the Bali court refused her request for the drugs found in her luggage to be forensically tested for origin by the Australian Federal Police. Even a request by the AFP for a sample for testing was refused.
A copy of a File Note from the office of the Australian Vice Consul detailing the above can be viewed at http://www.freeschapelle.com.au/acgbali.htm
The online petition is gathering strength rapidly due to the exposure of Ms Corby’s situation by the movie Ganja Queen, currently being aired on HBO in the U.S.A. Comments by those signing the petition range from rage to dismay over Australia’s handling of the affair and condemnation of the justice system that exists in Indonesia.
Occupations of members of the support forum come from all stations in life, from business executives, pensioners, university graduates, engineers, social workers, housewives, professionals, academics to the elderly and teenagers. ‘We are a motley bunch’ says Mr. Wright, ‘covering all levels of society. A real cross section of the community.’
It is expected that the petition which will run until December this year will attract around 50000 signatures from the international community. For additional information on the petition, the details can be read at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/help-bring-schapelle-corby-home-a-free-woman
About FreeSchapelle Forum
Setup early this year as a place where all persons concerned about the injustice metered out to Ms Corby can gather and exchange ideas, the forum has attracted over 500 members and rapidly growing. It is associated with other Corby support groups world wide. For more information contact admin@freeschapelle.com.au.
Click Here for more information
|
|
Corby, Lawrence get jail sentences cut
|
Indonesia traditionally gives remissions every Independence Day. (AFP: Sonny Tumbelaka)
|
Indonesia will cut the sentences of over 55,000 prisoners on Sunday to mark Independence Day, although inmates convicted for terrorism, corruption, drugs or illegal logging will be excluded, an official said.
But despite being convicted for drugs, the remissions will apply to Australians Schapelle Corby and Renae Lawrence, both facing long jail terms for drug trafficking in Bali, said Untung Sugiono, Director General of State Penitentiaries.
He said this was because the new rules on exclusions for remissions would only apply for court verdicts after October last year.
Indonesia traditionally gives remissions every Independence Day on August 17 and also on some religious holidays.
Similar remissions in the past have caused anger after some inmates convicted of having a role in bomb attacks by Islamic militants received reduced jail terms.
At the start of August, there were 137,054 convicts and detainees behind bars in Indonesia, the official said.
Click Here for more information
Corby's Indonesian sentence cut by three months
|
|
'Ganga Queen generates overwhelming support in USA and Canada'
|
Recently the TV Documentary 'Ganga Queen' screened in the United States and Canada on HBO.
Contrary to the groundswell of negative and abusive mail the program created from audiences in Australia, it has resulted in an astounding amount of positive, overwhelming support in the United States and Canada for the Australian, Schapelle Corby, detained on a twenty year sentence in Bali.
For further information on how best to support Schapelle and her family please contact the following;
Schapelle Support & Lobby Network
—An International Network of Support for an Australian wrongfully detained in Bali.
P.O. Box 1202, Waverley Gardens VIC 3170 Australia
Email: nwyndom@optusnet.com.au
|
|
|
A Message to American Supporters of Schapelle Corby:
|
It is wonderful to see that so many Americans are rallying to the defense of Schapelle Corby since the airing of "Ganja Queen" on HBO! Let's all hope that by next year on the 4th of July, we can celebrate Ms. Corby's freedom as well as our Nation's.
It is important that we show restraint in our communications with Indonesian officials! We need to be mindful that some things we say might backfire on Schapelle. Schapelle needs the love and support of all of us, and it could work against her if we anger Indonesian officials. Also, please be aware that much of the anti-Schapelle backlash in Australia (which may be over-stated anyway) has been whipped up by what we here would call the "Tabloid Press," or "yellow journalism," elements over there. Distortions and outright misinformation have become all too common regarding Schapelle in the sensational press. These people are looking for a story, true or not - at Schapelle's' expense.
Click Here for full story
|
|
Hidden truth of revenge in Bali
|
Despite unflattering claims aired in a new documentary, Schapelle Corby biographer KATHRYN BONELLA defends the family she has come to know so well
There's no doubt this week's broadcast of Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, has done the Corby family no favours in the style stakes. They mainly came across as rough and volatile. But swearing and lack of social style doesn't make them guilty. On the contrary, perhaps their uninhibited performances say more about their innocence.
Why would any family allow their lives to be filmed in microscopic detail while they were enduring living hell, fighting to get Schapelle off death row?
Why did they allow producer Janine Hosking and her many film crews incredible, Big Brother-type access for almost 12 months?
All members of the family were available; every emotional moment was filmed, up close and personal.
Easy. They did it because they had nothing to hide. The family clearly thought that showing intimate details of their battle to prove Schapelle's innocence would also show the world she was innocent. They laid themselves bare, made themselves totally transparent.
And in the months of filming, not one member of the volatile, emotionally fraught family ever once blamed each other or let anything ``slip'' that could implicate Schapelle or their family.
This wasn't because their words and actions were carefully orchestrated as a PR exercise -- on the contrary, wherever it could the documentary cast doubts on the family through other people's sensational words.
Click Here for full story
|
|
Schapelle Corby 'could work her way free'
|
Potential leader ... Schapelle Corby is a very good prisoner, the outgoing head of her jail said.
|
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.
Click Here for full story
|
|
I just want to go home, says Schapelle
|
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.
Click Here for full story
|
|
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.
Click Here for full story
Court rejects Corby's final appeal
|
|
SCHAPELLE CORBY
Sentenced to 20 Years in Bali for what?
| |
|
The Facts are…
Schapelle checked in her bag at Brisbane airport and neither she, nor her travelling companions, had any contact with it until after it arrived in Bali.
Schapelle's travelling companion's luggage and Schapelle's own luggage were also never searched.
Neither the Indonesian nor the Australian governments wanted to, or did investigate this case. There was no investigation into where or how Schapelle intended to sell the marijuana, if indeed the Bali police truly believed her guilty.
The Bali Police refused to analyse the marijuana that convicted her. Hair from those who grew it would be in the resin. They didn't want anyone to investigate. Later, this marijuana was destroyed, obliterating any chance it could be used to acquit Schapelle.
Click Here to Read More .....
|
|
A Victim of Injustice… It Can happen to You!
|
The Australian Federal government failed to pass on to Schapelle Corby's lawyers a Customs report into drug smuggling at Australian airports. It said it never knew the document existed. The report revealed that baggage handlers were diverting bags containing large amounts of drugs from incoming international flights to domestic baggage carousels.
Schapelle Corby checked her luggage in at Brisbane airport and that was the last contact she had with her luggage until she arrived in Bali.
In Sydney, her boogie board had been too big for the conveyor, so Qantas baggage handlers loaded it on a trolley, hauled it to Pier C where it was left unattended for 97 minutes, until half an hour before the Bali flight's departure. It was then loaded into a baggage canister which contained two other bags. This canister was closed by a canvas flap but not locked.
The CCTV recorded images that might have shown Schapelle's boogie board loaded into the canister were wiped after 72 hours.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) now openly admit that drug dealers are known to use innocent travellers as unsuspecting drug mules.
9.9kgs of cocaine was smuggled into Sydney airport from Argentina on the 8th October 2004, the same day, within minutes of Schapelle Corby's flight to Bali.
AFP confirmed that trafficking through airports does happen. The drugs are inserted into a piece of luggage at one airport, a photograph of the target bag and its tag are sent [emailed] to the destination airport, where baggage handlers remove the drugs before the passenger collects the bag.
Since September 11 and the Bali bombings, Australians have been repeatedly assured by the Australian Government that security measures and checks had been heightened.
On 1 August 2007, a former rugby league star Les Mara pleaded guilty to involvement in a 2004 baggage-handler drug importation racket at Sydney airport. The same time that Schapelle Corby's bags were at Sydney airport.
Police report that the same drug syndicate was intending to import a further 20 kilograms from Argentina in May 2005 with the co-operation of some baggage handlers at Sydney airport, but abandoned the plan after discovering listening devices in the homes of some of those involved.
Clearly we are all still at risk!
It is more probable that Schapelle Corby is a victim of a baggage-handler drug importation racket. If you believe Schapelle Corby is guilty of drug smuggling then ask yourself these questions:
How could Schapelle Corby get a pillow-case-size bag of drugs through Brisbane airport undetected? She would have to bypass check-in staff, x-ray machines, scanners, sniffer dogs, police, customs and baggage handlers.
How could Schapelle Corby get those same drugs through Sydney airport undetected, especially when there is no way possible for her to go 'airside' into the baggage handling area to plant the drugs into her own bag?
If that being the case, why would Schapelle Corby plant drugs in her own case only to run an even greater risk of incriminating herself if caught? Why not plant the drugs in someone else's baggage?
How could Schapelle Corby be so confident that no one or no security devices would detect such a large quantity of drugs at the Denpassar airport?
Drug smugglers conceal the drugs they are smuggling. Why didn't Schapelle?
After the Bali bombings, the Australian Federal Police agreed to work closely with Indonesian police in Bali, instructing them in the gathering, care and processing of forensic evidence. Why then when Schapelle was arrested, a number of customs officials all handled her bag containing the cannabis with their bare hands, thus contaminating and compromising the evidence.
If Indonesian law requires two pieces of evidence to uphold a conviction then why did they refuse to fingerprint Schapelle's baggage? Why did they refuse to have the drugs forensically tested? Why did they not examine the rest of Schapelle's luggage? Why did they not examine the luggage of her companions?
Media reports about Schapelle's family and others alleged to have been involved in some kind of drug activity or another - have nothing to do with the FACT that Schapelle is not responsible for what others may or may not do or say!
Criminologist Paul Wilson said at her trial that Schapelle did not fit the personality profile of a drug smuggler.
Guilty people don't beg for more investigation. - Schapelle did.
They don't sign documents requesting DNA analysis of the drugs that would contain their hair fibres. - Schapelle did.
They don't beg for the preservation of fingerprints. - Schapelle did.
They don't stand on principal and insist on their innocence when a guilty plea offers so many advantages. - Schapelle did.
It could be YOU that faces a death penalty
if a baggage handler puts drugs in YOUR bags!
Why do Qantas airlines now offer travellers, departing Australian airport terminals, the new plastic wrap system for their luggage? It strongly suggests that you can't afford to trust their baggage handlers for fear of becoming a victim like Schapelle Corby.
Why is Qantas the only airline that has boycotted advertising Schapelle's book 'My Story'? Do they not want Australian to be aware of her plight and what CAN happen after your bags have been checked-in?
When you check in to an Australian airport, don't be afraid to demand that they record your baggage weight on your ticket. You never know what you might find when you retrieve your case at the other end. Australian airline carriers DO NOT offer any safe baggage assurances to Australians travelling abroad. Their insurance may cover loss, theft or damage to your baggage but the airlines WILL NOT take any responsibility for what is found inside your baggage AFTER they have carefully screened your baggage at check-in. Even if you can prove that you had no access to your baggage anytime throughout your journey, like Schapelle Corby did, you will still be held liable in the event it is tampered with while in THEIR care.
How safe are YOU?
Schapelle Corby did not get a fair trial - will you?
Several breaches of the Indonesian Code of Criminal Procedure (KUHAP) were evident throughout her trial. The Australian Government did not react!
At least fourteen breeches were evident in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Indonesia ratified in 2006. The Australian Government did not react!
The Indonesian Chief of Police admitted that in the prosecution of Schapelle Corby, the investigation that led to her conviction was not only flawed but only 50% complete. The Australian Government did not react!
The Indonesian court refused to allow anyone to test the marijuana and determine its origin, this, despite numerous requests from Schapelle. The Australian Government did not react!
The judges contaminated the evidence before them in court when they handled the evidence. The Australian Government did not react!
The Indonesian authorities failed to weigh the total luggage at the time of arrest, and with the neglect by customs officers to follow basic investigative procedures and contaminating evidence, made it impossible to mount an effective defence. The Australian Government did not react!
The evidence was destroyed in 2006 - before all possible avenues of appeal had been exhausted. The Australian Government did not react!
Why has the Australian government not sought to defend the rights of its citizens from such a systemic miscarriage of justice?
|
|
More Information on Schapelle Corby |
|
|
|
|
All information is © Copyright 2005 'FreeSchapelle.net' - All Rights Reserved - No Reprint Without Permission
|
NEWSLETTER FEB 2009 
