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."