Corby’s early release unlikely: Warden

Parole for Australian drug smuggler convict Schapelle Corby is unlikely, given her poor behavior in jail, an official has said.

I Gusti Ngurah Wiratna, the head of Bali’s Kerobokan Penitentiary where Corby is incarcerated, said on Thursday that good behavior and participation in community activities were part of the requirements for a convict to be eligible for parole.

"The requirements are complex and the assessment is very tight. For example, Corby must be active in taking part in religious activities. I have not seen her pray at the chapel since I was installed in this prison three months ago,” Gusti told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

“That is only one small example, there will be much more, especially given the fact that Corby is a narcotics convict and a foreigner,” he added.

It was previously reported that Corby could be released as early as in September this year following a five-year sentence reduction recently granted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The reduction, when coupled with the additional 25 months of remissions that she has received since 2006, means that the 34-year-old Australian, who was initially sentenced to 20 years in prison, will only have to serve about 13 years in prison.

Under Indonesia’s justice system, a convict may propose parole if he or she has served at least two-thirds of their prison term.

Corby has been granted annual remissions at Christmas and Independence Day, except in 2007 after she was found using a cell phone.