Thursday, February 19, 2009

Can Hillary Help Schapelle Corby?


Hillary's visit to Indonesia reminds Jeralyn of Schapelle Corby, the young woman who is serving 20 years (!) in Bali, Indonesia for alleged marijuana smuggling:

It's an hour and 45 minute plane ride from Jakarta, where Hillary was, to Denpesar on Bali. I would have liked Hillary to tour the Kerkoban prison, just to provide some welcome and hopeful words to Australian Schapelle Corby, a young hair stylist who is serving a 20 year sentence in a hellhole of a prison because when traveling to Bali from Australia for a family vacation to see her sister who lives in Bali with her husband and children, customs claimed to have found 4 kilos of pot in her boogie board. Shapelle has steadfastly denied knowing anything about it.

At first they said Schapelle might get the death penalty. Then they sentenced her to 25 years. She's down now to 20 due to good behavior. There are prisoner transfer treaties between Indonesia and Australia, but Schapelle was denied even that. Here's a picture of what her cramped cell looks like, you can see the stove so close to the toilet. . .

If Hillary is too busy this trip (I recognize this is short notice) maybe I'll write her a letter and ask her to send one of her high-level appointees familiar with foreign criminal laws (the office does handle extradition) to visit when he or she is next in the country. It would be the right and the human thing to do.

For the rest of you, Schapelle likes to get letters:

Schapelle Corby C/- LPM Kerobokan Jl. Tangkuban Perahu Kerobokan,
Denpasar 80117 Bali, INDONESIA

read more . .


Posted by egalia at