TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Freedom within reach for Corby: Minister
Schapelle Corby: (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said on Wednesday that he would rule on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corbyâs parole application this week, raising speculation that Corby could be released soon
Change Size
Schapelle Corby: (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka) (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
Schapelle Corby: (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said on Wednesday that he would rule on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby's parole application this week, raising speculation that Corby could be released soon.
Corby was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, in October 2004 for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Indonesia. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison and is currently detained at Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali.
Amir said he would review the correctional board's recommendation, which completed its meeting on Jan. 30 and had given recommendations for 1,772 parole requests in total.
'The correctional board has completed the process. It will now be reviewed,' Amir said on Wednesday. 'I promise I will finish [reviewing] it within three days.'
A source within the ministry said the correctional board had already granted parole for Corby.
However, no relevant official would confirm this, saying the final say was Amir's.
Newly appointed penitentiary director general Handoyo Sudrajat also declined to confirm the report: 'Our principle is that we do not take away the rights of inmates who are eligible [for parole].'
However, even if Corby's parole request is granted, she will be expected to remain in Bali under the supervision of the correctional board until the end of her prison term in addition to a one-year stay after the term expires. Thus, Corby would be expected to stay in Bali until Sept. 25, 2017.
Parole can be granted to those who have served at least two-thirds of their sentence.
Amir, however, pointed out that Corby's request was only one of many, emphasizing that she would not receive special treatment.
'This [the review process] does not concern only the Corby [case]. She is among [around] 1,700 prisoners [who are being processed]. She will not get any special treatment. As long as she follows all the regulations and has a recommendation from the correctional board she is eligible,' he said.
Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana added that Corby would only be considered eligible if her application ticked all the right boxes.
'It depends on the minister. He must review the correctional board's recommendation and decide whether or not she has followed all the regulations and met all the requirements,' Denny said.
Denny said that Corby was the only foreigner among the 900 drug convicts from a total of 1,772 cases heard during the correctional board meeting on Jan. 30.
The Anti-Narcotic National Movement (Granat) had earlier criticized the granting of parole, saying it harmed the government's fight against drugs.
Denny shrugged off the criticism. 'We see it as a reflection of the anti-drug campaign,' Denny said, admitting that if Corby's case had been handled with the stricter 2012 government regulation on parole and remission requirements, parole would be much harder to secure.
