Corby mulls next step after case review appeal rejected: Lawyer

Irawaty Wardany ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Mon, 03/31/2008 10:45 AM  |  Bali

Convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Leigh Corby is considering various options following the rejection of her appeal by the country's Supreme Court, says her lawyer.

"She has yet to decide what measure she will take regarding the Supreme Court's decision," Erwin Siregar told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Corby was sentenced to 20 years in prison by the Denpasar District Court in May 2005 for the illegal possession of 4.2 kilograms of marijuana.

She later appealed to the Bali High Court, which in October 2005 reduced her sentence to 15 years' imprisonment.

Corby then brought her case to the country's highest court, filing a motion for a case review at the Supreme Court. The court rejected the appeal Friday and reinstated the 20-year prison sentence issued by the Denpasar District Court.

Erwin said his client had three options. First, she could file a motion for a second case review at the Supreme Court.

The Criminal Code doesn't mention this as an option, but three death row prisoners in the 2002 Bali bombing case recently obtained just such a second case review at the Supreme Court.

"Or we can propose presidential pardon or prisoner exchange with Australia," he told the Post here Saturday.

The latter option would involve Corby being transferred to an Australian prison, where she would serve out her sentence.

Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matallata, however, previously said a prisoner exchange wouldn't be an option as Indonesia had no memorandum of understanding on the subject with any country.

"There are many countries, including Australia, that have expressed their willingness to discuss a prisoner exchange procedure with Indonesia. However, the discussions ... haven't reached the level where such a procedure could be implemented on a practical level," he said.

Even if exchange was agreed upon by the involved parties, he said, it would be difficult to implement since there would be a large number of legal technicalities that needed addressing first.

"For instance, which authority would have the right to grant the prisoner a remission? The authority of the country, where the prisoner was put into trial and sentenced, or the country in which prison the prisoner is incarcerated?"

Erwin said he had yet to determine how to respond to the Supreme Court decision since he had yet to receive a copy of it.

"I haven't received a copy of the decision so I don't know what arguments were used by the panel of Supreme Court judges to reject my client's case review," he said.

He added that he had talked to his client that morning and she insisted she was innocent, saying the marijuana in question was not hers.

Corby was arrested in October 2004 upon arrival in Bali from Australia. She is now serving her sentence in Kerobokan Prison, the largest correctional facility on the island.

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