The Australian Consul-General in Bali, Brett Farmer, visited Kerobokan prison on Friday to discuss the parole process for Schapelle Leigh Corby, the Australian national serving a lengthy prison term for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana in 2004. His visit reflected the Australian government’s seriousness in supporting Corby’s efforts to secure a conditional release. On Friday, Kerobokan prison warden I Gusti Ngurah Wiratna officially received the letter from the Australian government guaranteeing that Corby would not leave Indonesian soil during her parole.
The letter is one of the key documentations required in the parole process. “We are able to guarantee that Schapelle would not run away during parole. We are able to supervise her to meet all the requirements during parole,” the letter states. “I just came for a chat [with the prison warden]. We are discussing the parole process. The Australian government has already provided a letter of support. We came to make more progress,” Farmer said, adding that the Australian government truly wishes that Corby would get parole.
Besides the letter from the Australian government, the prison also received a letter of support from Corby’s family in Bali. The letter was signed by I Wayan Widyartha and the head of Kuta village. Widyartha is married to Corby’s older sister, Mercedes. The couple resides in a house on Jl. Pantai Kuta, Gang Lotering No 14. Corby will reside in this house if the ministry approves her parole. In the letter, Widyartha states that he is willing and ready to host Corby in his home and would extend moral and material support to her as well as supervise her throughout her parole period.
Corby’s lawyer, Iskandar Nawing, said that he would soon start the official motion for parole. “We have to complete all the documents before filing a motion for parole. Once the administrative requirements are complete, I will file the motion,” Nawing said after the meeting with the warden on Friday. “I am optimistic about the parole. We will do our best. May god bless us,” Nawing added. Warden Wiratna said that Schapelle should fulfill the administrative and substantive requirements to get parole.
The administrative requirements include a letter from the Australian Embassy, a letter of guarantee from her family, a letter from the prosecutor handling the case, and a letter from the immigration office. “We have already received the letter of guarantee from the Australia Embassy and letter of guarantee from her family,” said Wiratna. Furthermore, Corby is also required to sign a letter stating her willingness to be a justice collaborator for any drug case. This new requirement was based on the 2012 Government Regulation issued last year.
This letter must be acknowledged by the National Narcotics Agency’s Bali branch. A justice collaborator is a person who helps the police and narcotics agency in drug cases. Wiratna disclosed that fulfilling the administrative requirements was the easy part in filing for parole. Fulfilling the substantive requirement would be more difficult. “The substantive requirement is a recommendation from internal monitoring team who is tasked with monitoring the behavior of inmates.”
Corby was sentenced to 20 years in prison and would have been in prison until Sept. 20, 2022, if not for the five-year sentence reduction granted by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2012. After that cut, she should be released on Sept. 27, 2017. Parole would see her released much earlier provided that she stays in Bali until that date.
source : bali daily
source : bali daily
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