Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jan 2005
Source: Australian, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2005 The Australian
Contact: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/files/aus_letters.htm
Website: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/35
Author: Rob Taylor, In Denpasar, Bali
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Schapelle+Corby (Schapelle Corby)

TEARFUL CORBY IN BALI COURT

AUSTRALIAN Schapelle Corby wept today when she appeared in a Bali
court for the first time on drug smuggling charges, saying she was
glad she now had the chance to fight allegations that could lead to
the death penalty.

Ms Corby, 27, arrived at the Denpasar District Court in a caged police
bus.

She was handcuffed to a female prisoner and was led to a barred
holding cell along with 20 other prisoners.

Dressed neatly in a blue shirt and brown skirt, and with her hair tied
in a bun, the Gold Coast beauty student told journalists in a quaking
voice that she was pleased that her almost four-month wait for the
trial to start was over.

"I'm so relieved," she said.

Ms Corby was arrested last October after customs officers at Bali's
Denpasar Ngurah Rai Airport found a plastic zip-lock bag containing
4.1kg of cannabis leaf and heads in her unlocked boogie-board bag.

She has consistently maintained her innocence, claiming somebody must
have planted the pillowcase-sized stash in her luggage between
Brisbane and Denpasar airports.

Scuffles broke out outside the court among rival Australian TV crews
as they jostled for shots of Ms Corby.

Inside, Indonesian prosecutors read an indictment that claimed Ms
Corby had admitted owning the marijuana and had refused to open her
bag when customs officers at an X-ray machine identified a suspicious
package inside -- allegations Ms Corby denied through a translator.

"I understand, but it's not true," she said. "I opened it myself. He
didn't even ask me."

She was given a handkerchief to wipe away tears and for most of the
30-minute hearing sat quietly with her hands folded.

She smiled occasionally to her mother Ros Leigh and sister Mercedes
Corby, who photographed the hearing while sitting with friends.

Ms Corby later accused police of ignoring crucial evidence which, she
said, could prove her innocence, such as testing the marijuana to find
its origin and checking the bag for fingerprints.

"Because it's not mine and that's why they don't do it and that's why
they don't want it," she said of the drugs.

Chief lawyer Erwin Cercaria told the court the prosecution had made
errors in the four-page indictment document, sometimes referring to
only 4.1 grams of marijuana instead of 4.1kg as alleged.

One of Ms Corby's legal team, Vasu Rasiah, said Mr Erwin would attempt
to force Indonesian police to test the marijuana next week to see
where it came from.

"At the next hearing we will request the court to do this testing,
because it's very important to her case," he said.

Family friend Jodi Power, who arrived in Denpasar on the same day as
Ms Corby for a holiday, said her friend had been in turmoil last night
as she waited for the trial to begin.

"It's hard. I couldn't even imagine it in my worst nightmare," she
told AAP.

Police and prosecutors have warned they will seek the maximum penalty
of death by firing squad if Ms Corby is convicted. Most legal experts
believe a heavy jail sentence would be more likely.

Two Australian diplomats were in court to observe the trial.

"Consular officials are monitoring Ms Corby's case to ensure that
those processes proceed fairly and that her welfare is protected," a
spokeswoman said.

Ms Corby has been awaiting trial in the notorious Kerobokan prison,
which houses several of the Bali bombers, including the so-called
smiling assassin Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Mukhlas and mastermind Imam
Samudra.

The hearing was adjourned for a week to give her legal team time to
examine the case against her. The trial is expected to last between
one and two months. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake