Aus drug smuggler appeals

2006-08-25 12:29

Bali - A young Australian woman convicted of smuggling marijuana onto Indonesia's Bali island launched a final appeal on Friday against her 20-year sentence.

Schapelle Corby's conviction in May for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana onto the resort island triggered intense media interest in Australia, where many people said she is innocent.

Corby's lawyer Erwin Siregar said Corby had not been proved to be part of a criminal network so could not be found guilty of importing drugs.

New evidence

He also said he would submit a letter from Australia's justice minister that would constitute the new evidence needed to launch the appeal, known as a judicial review.

The letter, a copy of which was viewed by the Associated Press, is a reply by the minister, Christopher Ellison, to a question by Siregar about whether security cameras were working on the day Corby left Sydney airport.

Ellison writes that "on the date of Ms Corby's departure, none of the cameras had been identified as having a fault".

Domestic drug ring

The relevance of the letter was not made clear, but it appeared to related to defence claims that Corby was a victim of a domestic drug ring involving corrupt Australian baggage handlers who failed to retrieve the planted marijuana before her bags were transferred to an international flight.

The drugs were found in a surf board bag belonging to Corby.

Siregar said there was "no way the defendant would do such a foolish thing" as smuggling the drugs.

Asked whether he thought the appeal would succeed, he said: "We are confident this will work. If we were not confident, we would not be doing it."

- AP