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Schapelle Corby "Ganja Queen" Airs on HBO June 30

Since 2005, I've been following the case of Australian Schapelle Corby, sentenced to 20 years in an Indonesian hellhole of a prison for allegedly smuggling 10 pounds of pot into Bali in a boogie board on a vacation, despite some evidence the pot was planted, possibly by a ring of airline baggage handlers, although that theory has since been discredited.

Her story will be told in Ganja Queen, airing on HBO on Monday, June 30.

Ganja Queen is the harrowing story of Schapelle Corby, a young Australian woman who is accused of international drug trafficking after ten pounds of marijuana are found in one of her bags while on holiday in Bali. Proclaiming her innocence, she finds herself locked in a life-and-death courtroom battle. The film is a chilling reminder of the risks all travelers take when visiting countries with vastly different criminal justice systems and cultural mores.

On Friday, Schappelle was taken from the prison to an Indonesian hospital where she is on a suicide watch. Her last appeal was denied in March. [More...]

Here is a clip from Ganja Queen:


Here is Schapelle's official website.

Schapelle has always maintained her innocence. Here are the facts she presents to support her assertion:

  • Schapelle checked in her bag at Brisbane airport and neither she, nor her travelling companions, had any contact with it until after it arrived in Bali.
  • Schapelle's travelling companion's luggage and Schapelle's own luggage were also never searched.
  • Neither the Indonesian nor the Australian governments wanted to, or did investigate this case. There was no investigation into where or how Schapelle intended to sell the marijuana, if indeed the Bali police truly believed her guilty.
  • The Bali Police refused to analyse the marijuana that convicted her. Hair from those who grew it would be in the resin. They didn't want anyone to investigate. Later, this marijuana was destroyed, obliterating any chance it could be used to acquit Schapelle.

She likes to get letters. You can write to her at:

Schapelle Corby C/- LPM Kerobokan Jl.
Tangkuban Perahu Kerobokan,
Denpasar 80117 Bali, INDONESIA

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  • Display: Sort:
    After watching Midnight Express, I would (none / 0) (#1)
    by PssttCmere08 on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:16:45 PM EST
    NEVER have the guts to try any drug smuggling outside of the U.S.....make that anywhere as that is not how I roll.  But, I understand the temptation for some people.

    that was a powerful movie. (5.00 / 0) (#8)
    by thereyougo on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:38:06 PM EST
    And yeah, especially being a woman in a muslim  country.I can surmise that is probably one of the reasons she got the 20 Year sentence. Women who don't wear the abayas and other protective clothing shouldn't expect  better in these 3rd world  countries. She deserved it in their eyes, no human rights, sham courts.  Big yikes.

    Even the  worthless lawyer got off. Proves the value of women  there. Sad.

     

    Parent

    Umm -- Bali (5.00 / 0) (#15)
    by camellia on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 06:29:23 PM EST
    is part of Indonesia, but Bali itself is Hindu.  Also, in the Muslim parts of Indonesia, women do not and never have worn the abaya nor any other concealing clothing.  In fact, until relatively recently (i.e., the past 15 years) Indonesia itself was the most tolerant and open of Muslim countries.  I lived there (actually during the years that Barack Obama was there), and found its women progressive and liberal in all ways.  However, I would not want to spend any time in a prison in Indonesia, no matter how religiously tolerant the country.

    Parent
    I stand corrected ! thanks :-) (none / 0) (#20)
    by thereyougo on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 08:29:25 PM EST
    Her lawyer (none / 0) (#2)
    by jtaylorr on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:17:50 PM EST
    admitted he fabricated the baggage handlers theory and has apologized to the baggage handlers.


    he said that after she fired him (none / 0) (#3)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:24:55 PM EST
    AU news:

    She sacked Mr Tampoe, who no longer practises law, after she was sentenced to 20 years' jail.

    Mr Tampoe says it is "more likely than not that somebody other than baggage handlers put the drugs in her bag".

    He believes someone planted it. Some believe it was her brother.

    If it wasn't her, and she didn't know about it, she shouldn't be in jail.

    Parent

    I agree. (none / 0) (#7)
    by jtaylorr on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:35:46 PM EST
    I've been following this for a while and I don't think she's guilty. Re-reading my previous comment, it does sound like I thought otherwise, so sorry.
    But what I don't understand is why she turned down the Australian government's offer of two Queen's Council barristers.


    Parent
    Me neither (5.00 / 0) (#13)
    by Rainsong on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 05:16:44 PM EST
    I dont think she's guilty, but other possibilities exist, for example the possibility of others in her travelling party being the culprit, or a domestic drop that went wrong ie meant to be picked up before the luggage exited Australia, or was in the wrong luggage for the wrong flight.  

    Blaming airline baggage handlers was a mistake, but it could have been meant to be on short domestic inter-city flight where there is known domestic criminal drug rings operating.  

    Thing is, pot is easy and cheap to get locally in Bali, there's no need to take it with you, let alone such large amounts for a holiday. Also, so cheap on currency exchange rates, its not worth selling in Bali either.

    What is unusual about Shapelle's case is the drug-trafficking that is caught, is usually leaving Bali (with high-cost drugs for the Australian market, eg heroin), not entering it with pot.

    She's not the first Australian to be in this position in Indonesia. Politically, the two countries have been in a kind of Cold War for decades.  

    eg Australian Coast Guard and navy take potshots at Indonesian fishing fleets in Aussie waters all the time, Indonesia was a major stop-over port of exit for illegal immigrants (from Middle East, Afghanistan etc) to make the sea crossing, and Australian peace-keeping troops remain in East Timor.  Not exactly friendly allies.  Australia  holds Indonesians in 'detention centres' or mini-Gitmos, usually for poaching in Australian coastal fishing grounds, and some of the trade treaties for natural gas drilling etc, haven't exactly been fair trade from Indonesia's point of view.  Sometimes there have been diplomatic transfer of citizens, like exchanging prisoners /snark.

    Bali the island is very popular holiday destination for Australians, because its so close and cheap, it attracts the young and the workingclass families for the cheap holidays.  

    There's an old popular song called "I've been to Bali too" making reverse class fun of the Aussie cultural snobby tradition of overseas travel - per head of capita, Australians travel more than any other country in the world.  The globe-trotting Aussie snob, the in-joke about Bali is that being the workingclass destination, and the lines of the song go " Oh you've been to London, you've been to Berlin /snark - but I've been to Bali! I've been to Bali Ohhh.. I've been through airport Customs too".

    Which only made the 2002 Bali bombings more grievous for Australians.

    Anyway, the socio-political culture in brief, is that Indonesia often takes any pot-shot it can at Australians. I could be wrong, but I suspect Shapelle refused the offer of govt QCs because they were going to try for a diplomatic deal (eg having her returned to serve her sentence in an Australian facility), and she wanted to maintain her innocence.


    Parent

    Great post! (none / 0) (#19)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 07:28:09 PM EST
    Thanks for the information.

    Parent
    and may I also say (none / 0) (#5)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:28:57 PM EST
    HBO has been doing some amazing stuff lately.
    Showtime too.


    your other off topic comment was deleted (none / 0) (#6)
    by Jeralyn on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:31:54 PM EST
    this thread is about Schapelle.

    Parent
    sorry (none / 0) (#9)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:45:30 PM EST
    pot and planes and all.
    I had been waiting for an open to ask you about that.


    Parent
    btw (none / 0) (#10)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 04:49:19 PM EST
    I have a good friend who has a house in Thailand who had a similar experience but he managed to convince them it was not his.
    it was in fact not his but I have no idea how he managed to convince them of that.
    he is quite rich so a bribe may well have been involved.


    logically (none / 0) (#12)
    by Capt Howdy on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 05:01:17 PM EST
    it seems there would be more danger coming to the US.  you know, bringing it "in". but according to my friend it is just a common in either direction.
    his experience was years ago.  I dont even remember how many but quite a few, 10 or 15 at least.
    I should email him.


    You're Right (none / 0) (#14)
    by JimWash08 on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 05:18:16 PM EST
    I think because we were in Sydney (at that time, it was believed that the ring's Aussie members might have been in Sydney, Melbourne and one other city, I forget) we were more susceptible to it.

    And ever since 2003, its quite difficult to travel abroad and not wonder if people in other countries have a serious hatred for ALL Americans, whether we were against the decisions of our esteemed President. But, I digress...

    So, yeah, we were afraid that as young early 20s Americans, we would be easy "targets," if you know what I mean.

    I have to admit that I still fear traveling outside the US. The only "foreign" land I've been to since summer 05 is Hawaii, and that is still the US.

    Parent

    Travelling (none / 0) (#23)
    by CST on Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 12:30:19 PM EST
    View of Americans depends greatly on where you travel.  For example, I travelled recently to Namibia where they LOVED Americans (esp. compared to European tourists).  A lot of countries in Africa (particularly the south) and places like Japan have no problems with Americans.  The places you will have issues are places like Europe where there is a lot of Anti-U.S. sentiment on foreign policy.  However, I wouldn't fear for my life there, just be prepared for dirty looks.  I would be more tentative travelling to places that are significantly Muslim since we have damaged our reputation there more than anywhere, and many of those countries are less developed and therefore less security is in place for tourists.

    South America has never been completely safe for anyone travelling, and the U.S.'s reputation there has never been great.  I don't think it's significantly worse now though than it was pre-2003.

    Parent

    I have no desire to ever visit... (none / 0) (#16)
    by AX10 on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 06:34:09 PM EST
    these kinds of places.
    Bad things happen in the first world countries, but the third world will always "take the cake".
    This is not a hit at the impoverished peoples of these nations, but at their archaic governments.

    True (none / 0) (#18)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 07:25:38 PM EST
    So many of them have dictatorships with kangaroo courts.

    Thanks for bringing this to our attention Jeralyn. The trailer made the film look really interesting and I'll have to either watch it or tivo it.

    Parent

    In prison for a plant that grows anywhere (none / 0) (#17)
    by MissBrainerd on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 06:50:22 PM EST
    and isn't even harmful and this woman's life is destroyed.  This world is so crazy sometimes I get depressed!

    Exactly (none / 0) (#21)
    by Montague on Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 11:05:52 PM EST
    The stuff shouldn't be illegal anyway.  This is reminiscent of the earlier diary about pornography and community standards.  

    Parent
    It will drive you mad.... (none / 0) (#22)
    by kdog on Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 09:52:55 AM EST
    no doubt about it.

    Makes as much sense as caging a human being over 10 lbs. of lettuce.

    Parent

    My daughter (none / 0) (#24)
    by weltec2 on Tue Jul 01, 2008 at 12:13:47 AM EST
    is traveling to Cambodia this summer with a group from her university to study the various ways that NGOs there are dealing with trafficking in women. Personally, I would just as soon she didn't go. But at least I can say check your bags. At no time or for any reason should you leave a bag unattended.  

    Misinformation (none / 0) (#25)
    by SG on Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 12:09:35 AM EST
    A few things from an observer in Bali:
    Schapelle has always maintained her innocence.
    Is that really a relevant point? Someone says they are innocent?

    Schapelle checked in her bag at Brisbane airport and neither she, nor her travelling companions, had any contact with it until after it arrived in Bali.

    I'm not sure if this is unusual for a bag? The implication seems to be that either a) some third party put the pot in Queensland (even you say it is unlikely), or b) the Balinese customs people did so. There is no evidence to support either of these assertions. And where on earth would customs officials in Bali get 4kg of Aussie hydroponic pot from, especially if there is, as often claimed, none in Bali.

    Neither the Indonesian nor the Australian governments wanted to, or did investigate this case.

    Are you serious..this was studied and investigated at an official level and private level by dozens of people. I myself have talked to a Balinese detective who was given huge resources, far more than he would usually get for such a case. He is firmly of the belief that she, with her siblings, are guilty and had full knowledge. Staff from the aircraft have talked of her nervy state on the aircraft going into Ngurah Rai. Maybe she just hated landings?

    There was no investigation into where or how Schapelle intended to sell the marijuana, if indeed the Bali police truly believed her guilty.

    You mean apart from spending 15 minutes at the end of Jalan Double Six or an hour at Dreamland or 1000 other places. Bali has been awash with Australian pot over the years and this is one biggest bits of disinformation out there. So somebody was importing it. It became very hard to get after Ms Corby went down..whether it was a direct result of that or an indirect result I don't know but regardless of that it was a large and well supplied market up to that time.

    Also, so cheap on currency exchange rates, its not worth selling in Bali either.

    No not true, the imported hydroponic stuff can go for about 10 times the price of the local weak weed. The market is exclusively rich Indonesians and tourists.

    I believe the woman is guilty, as are her siblings, and that seems to be fairly universal opinion here on the island and growingly accepted in Australia. I also strongly think that 20 years is appalling but that sentence was as much the result of the noise her family and supporters made and the awful racist nonsense spouted by them and the media who accused Indonesians of all sorts of things including being 'monkeys' and the like. It also came at a time when the country was toughening up it's drug laws substantially, under the direction of Made Pastika (now the new governor of Bali and very highly regarded both here and abroad)whose child had died from a drug related death.

    One more thing, I'm not Balinese or Indonesian but I do find many of the implications made in this case, both in the lead post and the comments, resoundingly ugly. There is an underlying, unspoken of course, racism that implies either corrupt practice or incompetence in this case, when, of all cases in Indonesia since I've been here, this is the one where the authorities, knowing how much they were in the public eye, and aware of the damage this could do to an economy reeling under a bombing, made strenuous efforts to not only do the right thing but be seen to do the right thing.

    Ironically there is now some talk in Indonesia of decriminalising pot and if that happens I guess there may be some retrospective review of this case.

    Transfer (none / 0) (#26)
    by SG on Sat Aug 30, 2008 at 12:13:26 AM EST
    having her returned to serve her sentence in an Australian facility

    Or, and this has been much commented on, a women's facility in Australia would be a far, far harder, more oppressive facility to spend many years in than Kerebokan Jail.

    No (none / 0) (#27)
    by icequeen on Wed Sep 03, 2008 at 12:25:35 AM EST
    Funny that you choose to use the name "misinformation".

    "Schapelle has always maintained her innocence.
    Is that really a relevant point? Someone says they are innocent?"

    It's relevant. She maintains her innocence even though pleading guilty would allow her the chance to be pardoned by the President.
    From studying drug cases in Indonesia, I have noticed that if the defendant pleads guilty, shows remorse, and claims they are an addict, they usually receive a lighter sentence. If they plead innocent then they are seen to be "fighting" the system and they will receive a harsh sentence. When was the last time anyone was ever found innocent of drug charges in Indonesia? Are all of them guilty? Or are some of them victims of a notoriously corrupt judicial system?

    "And where on earth would customs officials in Bali get 4kg of Aussie hydroponic pot from, especially if there is, as often claimed, none in Bali."

    Firstly, the marijuana was never proven to be hydroponic. The Bali police simply stated it was hydroponic but would not allow tests. The Australian consulate in Bali has a document stating that Schapelle asked for the marijuana to be forensically tested. The document also states that the Bali Police rejected the request. As with all the testing of the evidence, they deemed it "not necessary"
    For Schapelle's case, they would have picked up some marijuana from the same stash they use to set up tourists. You say you are in Bali, you would know that the cops deal on the streets to set up naive tourists.

    "Are you serious..this was studied and investigated at an official level and private level by dozens of people. I myself have talked to a Balinese detective who was given huge resources, far more than he would usually get for such a case. He is firmly of the belief that she, with her siblings, are guilty and had full knowledge. Staff from the aircraft have talked of her nervy state on the aircraft going into Ngurah Rai. Maybe she just hated landings?"

    Oh please, this is all hearsay. Chinese whispers. Rumours. Whatever you want to call it.
    If the Bali cops did such a thorough investigation, why didn't they arrest Mercedes?  After all, Schapelle was on her way to visit Mercedes. Why didn't they search any of Schapelle's traveling companions? Schapelle's friends were free to go as they pleased. The cops were only interested in Schapelle's bag. The handles on the boogie board bag had been broken, and the bag containing the marijuana had been slashed to release the smell.

    "There was no investigation into where or how Schapelle intended to sell the marijuana, if indeed the Bali police truly believed her guilty.
    You mean apart from spending 15 minutes at the end of Jalan Double Six or an hour at Dreamland or 1000 other places. Bali has been awash with Australian pot over the years and this is one biggest bits of disinformation out there. So somebody was importing it. It became very hard to get after Ms Corby went down..whether it was a direct result of that or an indirect result I don't know but regardless of that it was a large and well supplied market up to that time."

    OK, if Australian marijuana has been imported into Bali for years (it makes me laugh to even type such a ridiculous statement), why has nobody ever been arrested before Schapelle? Why has there never been a single gram of Australian marijuana seized in Bali? You'd think the Australian Federal Police would want to put a stop to this - but they weren't even interested in finding out where Schapelle got the drugs. Qld Police have released several statements over the years saying that they have investigated and cannot link the Corbys to the drug trade.

    "No not true, the imported hydroponic stuff can go for about 10 times the price of the local weak weed. The market is exclusively rich Indonesians and tourists."

    So you're saying that the Indonesians don't know how to grow hydroponic marijuana? Australians have to risk their lives importing the stuff?  

    "I believe the woman is guilty, as are her siblings, and that seems to be fairly universal opinion here on the island and growingly accepted in Australia."

    That just proves how easily people are fooled. If there had been a proper investigation, we'd know where Schapelle got the drugs, and where she intended to sell them. The mystery would be solved. There are so many holes in the case that the media has taken it upon themselves to publish wild rumours, in an attempt to solve the mystery.
    The Qld police have investigated Schapelle's family and they have repeatedly stated that there is no evidence to link her family to the drug trade. In my opinion, the drugs were planted on Schapelle right after Made Pastika announced his "Tough on Drugs" campaign. What better publicity than to plant drugs on a westerner? Then just sit back and watch the "War on Drugs" funding come rolling in. The Australian government let it happen. The Australian government "lost" the CCTV footage from Brisbane and Sydney airport, and they didn't even flinch when Schapelle's request to have the Bali CCTV footage be shown in court was denied.

    Civil Liberties Australia (none / 0) (#28)
    by icequeen on Wed Sep 03, 2008 at 12:47:34 AM EST
    Here is an interesting letter from Civil Liberties Australia that some might be interested to read: http://www.cla.asn.au/0805/index.php/opinion/2008/07/10/on-trial-australian-media-for-underminin