Innocent until proven guilty<\/p>\n
While I think Dewi Anggraeni's take on Australians' attitude
\nto Indonesia is interesting and informative, I think it goes too
\nfar. For every Aussi with a racist or xenophobic view, there are
\nmany thousands who have normal, friendly outlook toward Indonesia
\nand Indonesians. I think it is easy to misread Australian's anger
\nabout the Corby trial, given our sensationalist press and given
\nour government's tendency to foster xenophobia in the population
\nfor political purposes.<\/p>\n
Many Aussies are upset about the way the Corby trial has
\nprogressed, but that anger is as much about our government's
\nhandling of the case as it is about Indonesia's judiciary. Our
\nfederal police chief sent a letter to the court stating that
\nthere was no corruption at our airports, a fact that has been
\nfound to be totally false. Check-in film and baggage weight
\ninformation was not made available; no baggage handlers have been
\ninterviewed and no expert legal counsel was made available to
\nCorby's defense team until the very last minute.<\/p>\n
Another matter that worries Australians is Bali's judicial
\nsystem. The police did not fingerprint the bag, they did not
\ncheck for the origin of the cannabis, they did not film the
\nopening of the bags. And why they did not look into possible
\nbaggage tampering at the Bali airport? The prosecution boasted
\npublicly that they only prosecuted guilty people.<\/p>\n
Where is the presumption of innocence? The judges openly
\nboasted they had never found anyone innocent. The judges did not
\ntake into account that Corby has no history of drug pushing and
\nthat other tourists have arrived in Bali with drugs mysteriously
\nappearing in their bags (this is well documented and known to our
\nembassy in Bali). The judges publicly stated that Corby had not
\nproved her innocence. Why is there no transcript of the court
\ncase, so anyone can look at all the evidence and the background
\nto the verdict at a later date?<\/p>\n
Add to this the manhandling of Corby by the police into and
\nout of the courtroom, the disgraceful media scrum inside and
\noutside the courtroom, the disgusting facilities and food at the
\njail where she is housed. These issues must trouble Indonesians
\nas well. God knows how many innocent people are in jail if the
\njudges never find anyone innocent.<\/p>\n
All I hope for now is that the court of appeal will take the
\ncorrect \"innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt\"
\napproach, and review all the information fairly. I hope they will
\ndemand from our federal police any information that will shed
\nlight on this case.<\/p>\n
BREFNEY RUHL
\nByron Bay, Australia<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/innocent-until-proven-guilty-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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