Corby drug trial in Denpasar an unlikely draw for tourists
Corby drug trial in Denpasar an unlikely draw for tourists
Chris Brummit, Associated Press/Denpasar, Bali
On any other day they would have been sunning themselves on Bali's famous beaches, but on Friday scores of Australian tourists opted for a more unusual holiday activity: attending a drug trial in a baking hot courtroom.
Dressed in shorts and sandals and with sunburned shoulders, the vacationers turned up in support of Schappele Corby, who was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in jail for smuggling 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) onto the Indonesian resort island last year.
"We believe she is innocent," said Melbourne resident Shawn Adaway, who was carrying his seven-month-old baby in his arms. "It is as simple as that."
Few understood what was going on inside the courtroom, and relied on text messages from friends in Australia who watching the trial live with simultaneous translation to find out what was going on.
The three-month trial has attracted massive media coverage in Australia, where many people believe Corby's defense lawyers claims that the drugs were planted in her baggage by corrupt airport workers in Australia.
The tiny courtroom was overflowing with members of Corby's family, police and journalists.
Most of the holiday makers were forced to peer in on Corby through windows in the room.
Others watched TV pictures taken by Australian TV crews, which had set up operations centers with monitors in white tents around the grounds of the courtroom. Vendors selling ice cream and cool drinks also mingled amid the crowds.
"She doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do something like that," said Ron Reilly, a vacationer from the Australian town of Freemantle standing outside the courtroom. "I am convinced she is innocent. The more friendly faces she sees today will give her a boost."
Australia has had a long love affair with Bali, a Hindu enclave in mostly Muslim Indonesia. For many young travelers the island's nightclubs, surf-crashed beaches and cheap hotels were their first experience of foreign travel.
The island was cemented in the Australian psyche by the 2002 nightclub bombings, which left 88 Australians among the 202 dead.
Trials for the perpetrators of that attack also were attended by Australian victims and tourists, who cheered loudly when three key players in the conspiracy were sentenced to death.
On Friday, Corby's supporters shouted in anger when the verdict was handed down. Many broke into tears.
"This stinks," said one man, dressed in shorts. "I'm going to the pub."