The Australian government has offered Indonesia “an official guarantee” – cross their hearts, hope to die, etc – that convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby would not breach the conditions of her parole should she be released from prison eight and a half years into her sentence.
In a move that is being described as a “breakthrough,” Australian Consulate officials yesterday signed, sealed and delivered a letter to officials at Kerobokan Prison guaranteeing that Corby, 35, would be on her very best ever behaviour should they agree to grant her parole to serve out the remaining seven years of her sentence in Indonesian society.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr acknowledged that while the gesture is largely symbolic, it’s an important step forward in a case that has held captive the public’s attention since 2005.
Said Minister Carr, “This letter of guarantee – backed by strict reporting requirements – is necessary in order for the parole application to proceed…
Most Australians would agree she’s served a substantial part of her term in jail and deserves the chance to plead her case before parole authorise. Her twenty year imprisonment is a warning to anyone thinking of involving themselves in illegal activities overseas.
[However] We have no more influence on that than they would have on a parole authority in Australia.“
Should authorities grant Corby her parole – a first for a Balinese prisoner – she would have to remain in Indonesia, attend regular drug testing and not flee the country in accordance with the determined regulations. Standard parole procedures, really.
Towards the end of last year, Channel Nine announced that it would be producing a television miniseries based on Schapelle Corby’s trials and tribulations that takes its narrative cues from the bestseller Sins of the Father by investigative journalist Eamonn Duff, contentious source material for many vocal advocates of Corby’s case – the ending of which remains to be written.
via ABC, News.com.au
Photo by Dimas Ardian via Getty
