President Susilo vows justice for Australian woman facing execution
President Susilo vows justice for Australian woman facing execution
Agence France-Presse, Sydney
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has insisted that justice will prevail in the case of a young Australian woman facing the death penalty over the smuggling of drugs to the resort island of Bali.
Schapelle Corby was found with 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in her unlocked boogie board bag when she arrived at Denpasar airport last October.
The 27-year-old Gold Coast woman faces death by firing squad if convicted of drug trafficking. Corby has denied any knowledge of how the drugs got into her luggage.
The case has attracted much media attention in Australia, prompting the government to arrange the transfer of a prisoner to the Bali courtroom to give evidence that Corby was unwittingly ensnared in a domestic drug trafficking network involving corrupt airport baggage handlers.
Susilo, on an official visit here that has highlighted warming ties between Australia and Indonesia, said he was keeping an eye on the trial, although he expressed confidence in the court.
"I will watch (the case) closely to make sure that justice is there, because justice is important to be upheld and everybody, including the people of Australia and the people of Indonesia, will watch that kind of fairness and justice," he said in an interview with Australian newspapers published on Wednesday.
"As a president, I keep saying that while we have to respect the court in proceeding this case, that the decisions of the court must be just.
"They must be well-accepted by all sides and of course must be logical in terms of well understood and accepted," he said.
Canberra has said it will fight vigorously to save Corby's life if she is convicted and sentenced to death and may seek to repatriate her to serve her sentence here.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said on Wednesday the outcome of the case could lead to discussions between the Australian and Indonesian governments.
Ruddock said that while he trusted the Indonesian judicial system, "at times there is a need for governments to be engaged."
"There may be, after the court has deliberated, proper matters for governments to address but I think one needs to wait until that happens," he said.
The Australian newspaper called Susilo's personal promise to monitor the Corby case "extraordinary" and a further sign of a remarkable turnaround in the once testy relationship between the neighbors.
Susilo developed close ties with Australian leaders when, as an Indonesian security chief, he coordinated joint investigations into the bombing by Islamic militants of a nightclub strip in Bali that killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian.
Since Susilo's election as president last year, Australia has twice come to the aid of his country, first pledging A$1 billion (US$765 million) in aid and low-interest loans following the devastating Dec. 26 earthquake and tsunami off Sumatra and then rushing military teams to help victims of a second powerful quake last week.