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| Acmlm's Board - I2 Archive - World Affairs / Debate - Australian sentenced to 20 years for marijuana smuggling. |
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Legion banning people for no reason sure is fun Level: 101  Posts: 4061/5657 EXP: 10399737 For next: 317938 Since: 03-15-04 From: The Crossroads is under attack! Since last post: 5 days Last activity: 5 days |
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| Story here. (CNN) -- Many Australians reacted with anger and shock after a Queensland woman they believe is innocent was found guilty of smuggling drugs into Bali and sentenced to 20 years' jail. Her defense is that she's innocent and has just been a victim of actual drug traffickers who are baggage handlers. It does make sense and could definitely be the case. Even still, 20 years for something like marijuana? Sure nine pounds is a lot, but 20 years?  My question is, is there anything that anyone can do to counter this and how likely is it? Because to me, it doesn't seem fair in the slightest bit. (edited by Darth Legious on 05-27-05 07:23 AM) |
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alte Hexe Star Mario I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night Alive as you and me "But Joe you're ten years dead!" "I never died" said he "I never died!" said he Level: 99  Posts: 3948/5458 EXP: 9854489 For next: 145511 Since: 03-15-04 From: ... Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Being framed for no real reason, but rather to test the legal waters in that part of the world...That wouldn't be the first time something like that has happened. It is especially odd, seeing as the weed wasn't noticed in Australia's relatively high security airports, yet could be picked up by the air ports in Bali...Hmmmm. | |||
Arwon Zora Level: 35  Posts: 293/506 EXP: 278115 For next: 1821 Since: 03-15-04 From: Terra Australis Incognita Since last post: 5 hours Last activity: 10 min. |
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| It's baffling that she wouldn't notice four kilos of anything extra in a bag, really. It's a sad and regrettable story, I belive our drug laws are too punitive let alone those of Asian countries. That said, the media circus over the silly bint has been incredibly excessive. And staggeringly uneven. This isn't the first time Australians have been caught up in Asian drug crime, and at least she's escaped the death penalty and there's a chance she can serve the sentence in Australia. The 9 young Australian guys caught being heroin "mules" won't be so lucky on either count - most likely the firing squad for those dumb kids. And all they got was a couple days of "oh that's sad" coverage, some distraught families and such, then attention shifted straight back to Corby. Apparently there's also 3 other Australians facing the death penalty from the same charge... and I just learned this TODAY. And of course, David Hicks got barely any attention himself all that time he was in Guantanimo Bay. I suppose he and the "Bali 9" just aren't as photogenic. Stupid media. (edited by Arwon on 05-27-05 12:19 PM) (edited by Arwon on 05-27-05 12:20 PM) (edited by Arwon on 05-27-05 12:29 PM) |
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Tarale I'm not under the alfluence of incohol like some thinkle peop I am. It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get.  Level: 73  Posts: 1972/2720 EXP: 3458036 For next: 27832 Since: 03-18-04 From: Adelaide, Australia Since last post: 4 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Yeah, I was discussing this with somebody last night. I tend to believe that she is innocent, but then I've heard a lot about how baggage handlers DO send things through other people's baggage, and it all makes sense. I agree that the media circus surrounding this is silly, but our media tend to cover all kinds of silly things and ignore others, so.... I've more or less accepted that... and I avoid the media where possible. The only media I've listened to that bought up the fact that there are lots of OTHER Australians in the same situation was Triple J (a govt. owned youth radio station) and even then the focus was still on Corby. Well, sucks to be Corby right now.  |
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Scatterheart Panser Level: 29 Posts: 188/342 EXP: 143409 For next: 4476 Since: 06-06-04 From: Sydney, Australia Since last post: 17 hours Last activity: 4 hours |
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Strange laws though. Death penalty!? Both sides are going for an appeal. The defense wants mainly for Corby to spend most of her time in a Queensland jail, while the prosecutors want her sentence increased!  Who would really be stupid enough to take that much weed to a country with such strict laws though. It's just stupid. I personally think she's innocent. The judge didn't even allow for the defense's wittnesses to come up on stand. |
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Tarale I'm not under the alfluence of incohol like some thinkle peop I am. It's just the drunker I sit here the longer I get. Level: 73 Posts: 1975/2720 EXP: 3458036 For next: 27832 Since: 03-18-04 From: Adelaide, Australia Since last post: 4 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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| Most Australians know (before this case) about how strict Indonesia's laws are against this kind of thing. In fact, the nation is known for having strict laws for many things. I think that's one of the reasons so many people believe that Corby is innocent. You'd have to be pretty damned stupid, or set up, (or threatened as the Bali 9 claim to have been) to be in her position, and she doesn't seem stupid... |
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Ran-chan Moldorm eek, when are they going to stop growing... Level: 143  Posts: 9689/12781 EXP: 35293588 For next: 538220 Since: 03-15-04 From: Nerima District, Tokyo - Japan Since last post: 12 hours Last activity: 12 hours |
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| Wtf? 20 years for smuggling drugs? That | |||
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alte Hexe Star Mario I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night Alive as you and me "But Joe you're ten years dead!" "I never died" said he "I never died!" said he Level: 99 Posts: 3949/5458 EXP: 9854489 For next: 145511 Since: 03-15-04 From: ... Since last post: 2 hours Last activity: 2 hours |
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Originally posted by Fettster |
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Colleen Administrator Level: 136 Posts: 8389/11302 EXP: 29369328 For next: 727587 Since: 03-15-04 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Since last post: 3 hours Last activity: 1 hour |
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| Really, if she gets sent back to Australia, it's almost *like* being set free - I'd guarantee you that with the media attention, it would be like spending 20 years in a minimum security prison/hotel. Actually, ANYTHING is probably better than an Indonesian prison... I think the girl's innocent and the stuff was probably planted there by someone, but how are you going to make the Indonesian government listen to you aside from threatening to cut off diplomatic ties (much like the Zahra Kazemi murder trial that strained Canada's relations with Iran) or something along those lines. |
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Arwon Zora Level: 35 Posts: 296/506 EXP: 278115 For next: 1821 Since: 03-15-04 From: Terra Australis Incognita Since last post: 5 hours Last activity: 10 min. |
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| On the inside life's not that bad if you have money. "Boredom will be Schapelle Corby's main worry in jail, writes Matthew Moore. A banana, some pawpaw, five slices of white bread and half bowl of vegetables is the daily ration that is supposed to sustain about 20 Westerners like Schapelle Corby serving time in Bali's Kerobokan jail. Despite the occasional egg, no prisoner, Westerner or Indonesian, can stay healthy for years on a diet so lacking in protein. Corby, like everyone else in the jail, will depend on those on the outside in the months and years ahead. As she has done for more than seven months, she will need devoted friends and family to bring her food, supplies and money for as long as she is locked up. The jail provides almost nothing to its more than 600 inmates: no drinking water, coffee or tea, bedding, toiletries, clothes, medicine, amenities or work. For those without money, this lack of basic necessities can be fatal. But for those with cash, and friends, the jail can be a forgiving place to serve a long sentence. Prisoners can eat and drink whatever friends bring them, can furnish their cells, and have a mobile phone and full-contact visits five days a week. Advertisement Advertisement Life is easier for men than for women because they have the run of the jail, while Corby will be largely restricted to the women's block with 60 other prisoners. The single-storey jail is built around a large open area that includes a tennis court, but prisoners spend months and years wandering aimlessly. Although there is nothing to do, the atmosphere is more relaxed than many jails and, with discretion, there is cold beer for less than $A2 a can. Corby, like the other prisoners, will take her visitors to a small grassed courtyard where someone will appear, spread a straw mat for all to sit on, and offer cold cola, lemonade or sweet tea. This area is small and can be cramped when it is busy, but no one minds if you have a picnic and a glass of wine, provided you make a small donation to the guards who depend on visitors to make their living. Nights are the hardest. The women are locked in from 5pm to 9am. Corby's cell is so small the bodies of the seven women can touch as they rest. With no beds, they sleep on mats, and with no fan, they sweat. Each woman gets a bucket of water a day to keep clean. Now that she is sentenced, she might move cells and have a chance to make some improvements, get a cell with a bathroom, and add furnishings. Her mother, Rosleigh Rose, said Corby has had no power so far, but inmates say most cells have electricity at night so you can have a TV, charge the mobile phone, and run a fan. Phones, TVs, alcohol and other luxuries are illegal, but prisoners with money have no trouble keeping them. Bali's biggest jail has a reputation as a hellish place, but those inside say having money makes life tolerable. The Herald asked 10, mainly foreign, prisoners serving sentences for drug offences to fill in questionnaires describing their lives and the best and worst aspects of the prison. All complained of boredom, corruption, and especially of the large bribes they are forced to pay to wind back sentences hugely disproportionate to the offence. Most agree the prison is not violent, although punishment for the occasional outburst can be a long stretch in an isolation cell the size of a single bed. Robert Fraser, a 45-year-old from Scotland, nearing the end of a four-year stretch for possession of hashish, says it is ridiculous to compare Kerobokan with the notorious Bangkok "Hilton" jail or Turkish jails made famous in the book Midnight Express. "It's no hellhole here," he said. "If you are going to be in prison in Asia, this is the place to be." The sign in the visiting area says visits last for only 15 minutes. But the reality is friends and family can stay for nearly three hours in the morning and two in the afternoon, provided they pay about 80 cents a time. For those who want something stronger than tea and soft drinks, you can buy bottles of arrak. Hashish is readily available for about $16 a gram, the same price as on the streets of Denpasar. Fraser said the cost of a day out was about $120, a price confirmed by a former Indonesian prisoner who went out for medical treatment twice, but asked his name not be used. It is only available once prisoners have done some time, got to know the staff and the pace of the place. Fraser said he needed a minimum of about $130 a month to survive in jail and anything over that made life tolerable. Friends bought him materials that allowed him to build model boats in the prison workshop, which gave him an activity most prisoners didn't have. Corby is the only Western woman in the prison, although some of her fellow inmates speak English, including Teresa, a 28-year-old Indonesian woman doing 15 years for a narcotics offence. She appreciated the "spiritual aspects" of the jail, such as its little church, but warned new prisoners to be aware of how the courts listened only to money. "Don't believe your lawyer 100 per cent and be careful with the court; remember there is money talking and it's the same with the police." Every current and former prisoner you speak to complains about spending tens of thousands of dollars just to get a sentence cut to something manageable. As Corby heads into the appeal process she will have to decide whether she is going to do what most inmates say they do. One European prisoner said he had paid $35,000 to get his sentence brought down from 12 years to five. A further cut to just 18 months was on offer when he appealed to the Supreme Court, but could not raise the extra $25,000 asking price. Corby's financial backer, Ron Bakir, alleged on radio in April the chief prosecutor in Corby's case, Ida Bagus Wiswantanu, had already sought a bribe as part of the defence. Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Imron Cotan, responded by issuing a statement that Bakir had breached Indonesian law, hinting be could be arrested if he returned to Bali. After weeks of negotiations with the embassy, Bakir this week issued an apology, retracting his allegations. Yet Kerobokan's inmates all tell stories of how the bribery system works. You can pay early, before the prosecutor makes his request for sentence, or you can wait and try to organise payment during the appeal process that Corby is now heading for, when there are no hearings and less public scrutiny. French woman Helene le Touzey moved to Bali five years ago to support her son Michael Blanc after he was caught at the airport importing 3.8 kgs of hashish into Denpasar. A French Government representative told her it would cost between $200,000 and $250,000 in bribes to have a chance of securing a sentence of about 15 years. No money was paid and her son got life. They appealed twice. Both times the prosecutor renewed his demand for the death penalty. The High Court in Bali let the original sentence stand but the Indonesian Supreme Court added a fine of $70,000. Appeal courts in Indonesia often adjust sentences and think nothing of increasing the punishment imposed by a lower court, which is something Corby must risk if she appeals. One way prisoners can reduce their sentences is through remissions granted by the Government each year. Remissions are usually granted for good behaviour and are for one or two months. The more of your sentence you serve, the bigger the remissions can be, increasing to four months a year, and even more. As one former prisoner explained, "You can get remissions of up to six months, but only for very, very good behaviour and a very, very good supply of money." Also, quite a few SE Asian countries have very strict drug laws - very often the death penalty for drug smuggling. Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore would be other such examples. (edited by Arwon on 05-28-05 10:57 PM) (edited by Arwon on 05-28-05 10:59 PM) |
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Scatterheart Panser Level: 29 Posts: 193/342 EXP: 143409 For next: 4476 Since: 06-06-04 From: Sydney, Australia Since last post: 17 hours Last activity: 4 hours |
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| "For those who want something stronger than tea and soft drinks, you can buy bottles of arrak. Hashish is readily available for about $16 a gram, the same price as on the streets of Denpasar." WTF!? They're arresting people for bringing it in, then selling it themselves! What a fucked up country. Seriously! I feel bad for that Blanc guy, who got life. If they got bribed with $250,000, then they would've reduced his sentence. Greedy fuckers. |
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