Schapelle Corby

So I'll finally tackle the Schapelle Corby case, which has arguably dominated the news for months (although the death of the Pope and 9 Australian servicepersons in Indonesia took centerstage over the weekend). You can read the background on Corby here [http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=21819], but I'll hit the highlights. Corby headed to Bali with three mates back in October for a vacation. Upon arriving and entering customs, customs officials discovered about 4.1 kilos (about 9 pounds) of marijuana in the bag containing her boogie board. Corby was promptly arrested for smuggling and ordered to stand trial. The penalty for drug smuggling in Indonesia is death by firing squad.

In general, Corby does not fit the profile for an international drug smuggler and one could make a much greater return by selling that quantity of marijuana in Australia than one could by smuggling it into Indonesia. In addition, during the trial, details came out about a smuggling network among Australian baggage handlers - you check your luggage, a baggage handler inserts contraband and passes on information to a baggage handler at the bag's destination, who subsequently pulls the bag aside, removes the contraband, and you get your bag none the wiser. Should a baggage handler on the receiving end miss the bag, however, you end up with a big pile of drugs and, potentially, a date with a prison cell (in Australia) or a firing squad (in Indonesia). A convict serving time in Australia was flown to Indonesia to testify to the existence of such a network, but from what I gather, Indonesian law doesn't embrace the "reasonable doubt" concept.

The trial wrapped up last week. A ruling and sentence is expected next month. The press reports that the defence is not optimistic about an acquittal, but is hoping for a reduced sentence. Meanwhile, the Australian government is talking about trying to have Corby extradited back to Australia. My guess is that Australian officials, though neutral in public, are pulling many strings behind closed doors. Australia has worked feverishly to provide humanitarian aid to Indonesia in the wake of December's Tsunami. Meanwhile, those nine servicepersons died in a helicopter crash while flying rescue missions to remote regions of Indonesia affected by the latest earthquake. I would think that at this point, Indonesia's probably fairly open to any Australian requests.