Drug suspect seeks Susilo's pardon

Drug suspect seeks Susilo's pardon

An Australian facing the death penalty for allegedly smuggling marijuana into Bali has appealed to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to set her free, just days before a court is due to deliver its verdict, according to a report on Sunday.

Schapelle Corby, a 27-year-old student beautician, was arrested in Bali in October when airport authorities found 4.1 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana in her surfboard bag.

Defense lawyers claim she was the unwitting victim of an Australian gang that used her luggage to transport marijuana on a domestic flight but failed to remove it before she flew on to Indonesia.

"I cry myself to sleep each night wondering why this happened to me," Corby wrote in a letter published in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

"Dear President Yudhoyono, you hold the key. Please set me free," she added in her message to the Indonesian president. "I have done enough time for this terrible crime that I promise you that I did not do. Please set me free. That is the truth."

Prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for Corby, but the Bali District Court could still impose a death sentence. The court is scheduled to issue its verdict on May 27, 2005.

Corby's case has generated unprecedented interest in the Australian media, which has overwhelmingly painted a sympathetic picture of the accused smuggler.

Opinion polls have shown the overwhelming majority of Australians believe she is innocent.

Indonesia's ambassador to Australia said last week staff at the embassy in Canberra had received several death threats linked to the Corby case. --AP