Aussie lobbies RI over drug suspect

Aussie lobbies RI over drug suspect

Agencies, Jakarta

Australia's justice minister lobbied his Indonesian counterpart on Thursday over the case of an Australian drug suspect facing a possible death sentence, but denied his government was intervening in the high-profile prosecution.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison acknowledged he brought up the case of Schapelle Corby, on trial for drug smuggling on the resort island of Bali, with Indonesian Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin.

Ellison also said he had agreed to a request from Corby's lawyers to discuss "a number of issues" related to the case when he met the Indonesian attorney general later in the day.

But, Ellison said, "I don't think anyone would ask us or expect us to intervene in court proceedings. That would be an inappropriate request in Australia and an inappropriate request in Indonesia".

He said the government will do whatever it can within the bounds of the law to assist Corby. "That does not mean intervention in legal proceedings. We respect the independence of the judiciary in Indonesia as we do the independence of the judiciary in Australia," he said.

Corby was arrested on Indonesia's Bali island in October after airport authorities found 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana in her surfboard bag as she arrived for a family holiday. Corby has maintained her innocence, claiming the drugs were planted.

The case has become front-page news in Australia and turned the 27-year-old beauty student into a minor celebrity. It has been elevated almost to a diplomatic issue between Australia and Indonesia at a time when the two countries are mending ties.

On a visit to Australia this week, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he would ensure Corby received a fair trial, while Canberra has sought a prisoner transfer deal, which could see her repatriated if convicted.

Canberra earlier also arranged the transfer of a prisoner to the Bali courtroom to give evidence that the defendant was unwittingly ensnared in a domestic drug trafficking network involving corrupt airport baggage handlers.

Corby faces a maximum death sentence if convicted, and some Australians have suggested she could become a victim of Indonesia's corrupt and poorly run judicial system.

Her lawyers allege the drugs were planted by baggage handlers involved in a domestic drug trafficking operation in the eastern city of Brisbane, where Corby boarded the plane. The marijuana was meant to be removed by handlers in Sydney, where an unsuspecting Corby transferred to an Indonesia-bound flight. But the drugs were never picked up, the lawyers say, leaving Corby holding the bag.

Ellison said he also discussed with Hamid a possible prisoner transfer agreement, which would allow foreign convicts to serve time in prison back home.

The Australian justice minister also denied that the government was acting in the Corby case because of media and public pressure at home, saying it would have taken the same action in other overseas drug-related cases had it been asked.