Australian drug trafficker arrives at court

INDONESIA: Convicted Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby appeared in an Indonesian court Friday to file a final appeal to have her conviction and a 20-year sentence overturned.

An Australian supporter of Corby came to her aid and snapped at photographers to stay away from her as she entered the packed Denspasar district court. The court will not deliver any verdict on Friday, but will examine evidence submitted by her lawyers and later pass on the request to the Supreme Court.

Corby was found guilty in May 2005 of trafficking 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of marijuana into Indonesia's resort island of Bali in a high-profile case that gripped her home nation. She was originally handed a 20-year-sentence which was later reduced to 15 years by an appeal court.

The Supreme Court however in January reinstated her initial term. Erwin Siregar, one of Corby's lawyers, told the panel of three judges that his client had filed an appeal because of "mistakes that were made at all judicial levels" in her case.

"The ruling was made without adhering to evidence that appeared during hearing sessions," Siregar said, reiterating previous arguments that Corby had no knowledge of the marijuana found in her unlocked surfboard bag.

"The lack of the convict's fingerprints on the plastic cover (of the bag in which the drugs were found) shows the fact that the convict had no knowledge of the existence of the marijuana," he said. Noting the bag was unlocked and the drugs in a clear plastic bag, he said "it would have been impossible for her to do such a foolish act."

Bali, Friday, AFP