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After nine years in jail, Corby finally granted parole
Family visit: Mercedes Corby (in sunglasses), sister of drug convict Schapelle Corby, is mobbed by journalists after her visit to Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali on Friday
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Family visit: Mercedes Corby (in sunglasses), sister of drug convict Schapelle Corby, is mobbed by journalists after her visit to Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali on Friday. Corby was granted parole on Friday after serving nine years in jail. She was convicted of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati) (in sunglasses), sister of drug convict Schapelle Corby, is mobbed by journalists after her visit to Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali on Friday. Corby was granted parole on Friday after serving nine years in jail. She was convicted of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
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span class="inline inline-none">Family visit: Mercedes Corby (in sunglasses), sister of drug convict Schapelle Corby, is mobbed by journalists after her visit to Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali on Friday. Corby was granted parole on Friday after serving nine years in jail. She was convicted of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years in prison. (AP/Firdia Lisnawati)
The Law and Human Rights Ministry has granted convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby parole, a move that drew criticism from lawmakers who questioned the government's commitment to combatting drug smuggling.
Minister Amir Syamsuddin granted parole to 1,291 convicts, including Corby, after reviewing their parole requests and recommendations from the correctional board in Jakarta. 'Corby is among the 1,291 [convicts to get parole],' Amir told a press conference on Friday.
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 behind bars and is currently detained at Kerobokan Penitentiary in Bali.
Amir, a senior Democratic Party politician, however, declined to specifically discuss Corby, saying that his office treated every case equally and was 'bound to grant them [parole] as soon they became eligible'.
Corby would have been imprisoned until September 2022 if not for the five-year sentence reduction granted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2012. With that reduction, and many other remissions she has received over the years, reportedly more than 30 months in total, Corby will have completed her sentence in September 2016.
Parole can be granted to those who have served at least two-thirds of their sentence.
However, under her parole terms, Corby, as a foreigner, will have to remain in Bali under the supervision of the correctional board until the end of her sentence, in addition to a one-year stay after the sentence expires. Thus, Corby would be expected to stay in Bali until September 2017.
'What I want to stress here is that the parole is not a policy of the government or a generous act by a minister. It is a right [of a convict] that is stipulated in law and regulations,' Amir added.
While the Australian government and Corby's family have supported her efforts to secure her conditional release, many in Indonesia have spoken out against it.
House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Priyo Budi Santoso voiced his support for a petition to challenge the government's decision to grant Corby parole, saying the move 'betrayed' the nation's commitment to eradicating the drugs trade.
The petition was drawn up by eight lawmakers from various parties and handed to Amir on Thursday. 'The government should be fair; they must explain the considerations in granting the parole to the public,' Priyo said.
Amir, however, shrugged off the criticism, saying 'don't force me to repeat [my statement]. We are a civilized country, a law-governed state. [We] don't seek popularity and are not afraid of criticism.'
The National Anti-Narcotics Movement (Granat) has repeatedly criticized the granting of parole to drug convicts, saying it only harmed the government's fight against drugs. Political activists had accused Yudhoyono of bowing to pressure from Canberra in his decision to grant the five-year clemency to Corby.
Although Australia has frequently lobbied Indonesian officials, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said Corby's request had 'no connection to diplomacy between Jakarta and Australia'.
Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha also called on the public not to regard the parole for Corby as political. 'Let the government do its job, each country has its own mechanism for granting parole or remission,' he said.
In Australia, a television channel has pushed forward the screening of Schapelle, a controversial docudrama about Corby's arrest and conviction, from next Monday to this Sunday.
However, it is not clear when Corby will leave prison as no official in Jakarta, including penitentiary director general Handoyo Sudrajat, gave a clear answer to the question, saying only that it would depend on the administrative process at the prison.
Farid Junaedi, warden of Kerobokan Penitentiary, said his office expected to complete the administrative process next Monday or soon after it received Amir's letter on Corby's parole. 'As soon as I receive the letter, I will release [her],' Farid said as quoted in kompas.com.
