Corby's trial judged 'fair and proper'<\/p>\n
Rinduan Zain, Sydney<\/p>\n
On May 23 I was invited to attend a panel discussion called
\nSBS Insight, organized by SBS Television Network in Sydney.
\nBefore the discussion, I was interviewed about the Schapelle
\nCorby trial, which is said by some to be unfair and poisoning
\nAustralia's relationship with Indonesia. I was prepared for the
\ndiscrepancies and logical inconsistencies frequently shown by
\nAustralian media when it comes to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
First of all, many Australians believe Indonesia's legal
\nsystem is corrupt while they know almost nothing about how the
\nsystem works. They come to this conclusion because they think
\ninterference in the courts is common in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
They might not realize that since the downfall of Soeharto,
\nIndonesia has tried hard to transform the country from an
\nauthoritarian to a democratic state, including establishing
\nindependent courts and appointing impartial judges.<\/p>\n
Second, many Australians' attitude toward Bali courts are
\ninspired by the bribery that may sometimes happen in Indonesian
\ntrials. In the case of Corby's trial in Bali, nobody can show
\nthat the judge and prosecutors asked for a bribe in return for a
\nlight sentence for Corby, as claimed and then later retracted by
\nRon Bakir, an Arab-born Australian businessman in the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
Third, many Australians are convinced Corby is innocent, but
\nCorby and her lawyers have only been able to provide a
\nconventional argument that somebody else, possibly baggage
\nhandlers in Australia, could have interfered with her luggage en
\nroute to Bali. A baggage handler could have put the marijuana
\ninto Corby's surfboard bag without her knowledge. This argument
\nis not very strong.<\/p>\n
In addition to Corby's recklessness in not putting a lock on
\nher bag, she did not have the initiative to report to a customs
\nofficer at the Bali airport that her baggage felt a bit heavier.
\nIt seems that she would have noticed the weight change since the
\nmarijuana found in her bag weighed 4.2 kilograms.<\/p>\n
Moreover, Corby's lawyers could not find any evidence to back
\nup their claim of baggage handlers at Sydney airport planting the
\nmarijuana in Corby's baggage. Responding to this claim, the
\nAustralian Federal Police commissioner said there was no
\nintelligence on the involvement of a baggage handler.<\/p>\n
Some Australians appear to be blaming Corby's weak defense to
\ncorruption at the court. This might be because of their sympathy
\nfor Corby, as well as the belief in their own legal system,
\nCommon Law, as opposed to Indonesia's civil law system.<\/p>\n
It is likely that many Australians will not be able to accept
\nthe verdict if Corby is convicted. They insist the marijuana was
\nplaced in her baggage without her knowledge. This argument,
\nhowever, is useless unless backed up by actual evidence. It was
\nher bag, so she is the only person responsible for anything found
\ninside it.<\/p>\n
Some Australians at the panel discussion did not blame the
\ncourt for Corby's predicament. Instead they looked at their own
\ngovernment, which they said had not done enough to help Corby.<\/p>\n
They alleged that the federal police and attorney general was
\nin the wrong by providing the Indonesian authorities with
\ninformation on international drug syndicates. This information
\ncould help put Corby on death row. But because Australia is
\nopposed to capital punishment, this help should not have been
\nprovided by the federal police and attorney general.<\/p>\n
There are many lessons to be learned from Corby's trial. It is
\nunfair for Australia to alleging corruption in Indonesian courts
\nwhen Australians are not willing to look at their own weaknesses.
\nAlso, attempting to interfere in the court, for example, the
\nattorney general sending an official letter to the Indonesian
\nauthorities calling for a fair trial for Corby, could set back
\nIndonesia's court system back to a time when the state controlled
\nthe courts.<\/p>\n
This interference could also backfire on Australia if
\nIndonesia began to do the same thing for its nationals on trial
\nin Australia.<\/p>\n
In the end, though, Corby's trial will not have much of an
\neffect on official relations between Australia and Indonesia,
\nsince both governments believe Corby's trial is fair.<\/p>\n
It is worth mentioning that virtually no Australian government
\nemployee has criticized Corby's trial.<\/p>\n
Finally, there is no value in the kind of freedom of speech
\nthat allows people to accuse the Bali court of corruption without
\noffering any evidence to back up this serious accusation.<\/p>\n
The writer is an associate researcher at CDIE's Tarbiyah,
\nState Islamic University (UIN) Yogyakarta, and a PhD student in
\nsociology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.<\/p>",
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