Aussie drug convict released on parole
KEROBOKAN, Indonesia—Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby was released from an Indonesian prison on parole on Monday after more than nine years behind bars, racing past hordes of waiting journalists as scores of police stood guard.
The 36-year-old covered her face with a scarf and hat as she was ushered into a minibus waiting outside Kerobokan jail on the resort island of Bali, as camera crews and photographers fought to get a shot of her.
Corby, whose case has drawn huge fascination in Australia since she was caught entering Bali in 2004 with marijuana stashed in her surfing gear, sped off to complete final administrative steps for her release, with journalists giving chase.
Dressed in awhite blouse and jeans, she headed to the prosecutors’ office and then to the corrections office, part of the justice-ministry which will oversee her parole, trying to keep her face covered at all times.
At the corrections office, she signed papers agreeing to her parole conditions. Despite her face being obscured, she could be seen dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Her release dominated Australian TV networks on Monday morning, with every second of her release broadcast live to all those who have followed the case minutely.
As expected Corby did not comment on her release, as a bidding war is reportedly in full swing in Australia for her first postjail interview. However Kerobokan Prison Governor Farid Junaidi said she seemed fine.
“She was fine when she left, only a little anxious, and she asked why there were so many people and reporters,” he told journalists outside the jail.