Convicted Drug Smuggler Corby Is Released

Updated Feb. 10, 2014 6:22 a.m. ETAustralian convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby was released on parole on Monday in Indonesia and whisked away to a villa to await her first TV interview, in a deal said to be worth up to $2.7 million.

Australian Convicted Marijuana Smuggler Schapelle Corby Leaves Indonesian Prison on Parole Australian convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is released on parole from an Indonesian prison after serving nearly half of her 20-year sentence. Video: AP

Asked by journalists how she felt about her release, Ms. Corby replied in fluent Indonesian, which she learned in prison, “I am happy.”
With sirens blaring in a motorcade pursued by scores of journalists on motor scooters, Ms. Corby was taken in a van to the luxury Sentosa spa and villa complex in Bali’s upmarket Seminyak district, which is favored by foreign tourists for its bars and restaurants. Australia’s Seven Network secured rights to Ms. Corby’s first television interview this coming weekend.

Schapelle Corby at the Corrections Board Office after she received her parole in Denpasar, Bali. European Pressphoto Agency

The beauty student, now 36, was found guilty in 2005 of possessing 4.1 kilograms (about 9 pounds) of marijuana inside her boogie-board bag at Bali’s airport. Ms. Corby’s lawyers claimed the drug was planted by baggage handlers who were part of a trafficking ring in Australia’s airports, but that contention wasn’t proven. She was paroled after serving nearly half of her 20-year sentence.
Ms. Corby’s face was obscured by a veil when she left prison, but she appeared to be smiling. Australian television broadcast her release live.
Earlier, she was taken to Denpasar to complete her release formalities at the prosecutor’s office. Australian media placed cameras on poles to peer over frosted glass windows and look inside as Ms. Corby sat with her brother-in-law, who had accompanied her in the van to help her through interviews with prison officials, which lasted about 30 minutes.
It was unclear where in Bali Ms. Corby would live. Reports in Australian media said her family had purchased a second property on the island. But Indonesian officials said they expect she will live with her sister Mercedes in a family compound with an internal courtyard and pool, away from the prying eyes of tourists—most of them her own countrymen. Ms. Corby was on her way to visit her sister when she was arrested in 2004.
Ms. Corby must report in once a month, said Bali’s central prison chief Ketut Artha, while the authorities will pay periodic visits to her residence.
“If she makes the same mistake again, we will take stern action according to the law,” Mr. Artha said, without elaborating.
Indonesian officials haven’t said when Ms. Corby can return to Australia. She received sentence reductions for good behavior and a five-year clemency from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2012.
While Ms. Corby’s parole was welcomed in her home country, it sparked outrage in Indonesia, where many people believe she was guilty and should have served her full term.
“I’m disappointed with the decision to parole Corby, which shows that the government isn’t serious in combating drug-related crimes,” said Eva Kusmua Sundari, a member of the Indonesian parliamentary committee overseeing legal affairs.

Schapelle Corby is escorted by police from the prosecutor’s office in Denpasar in Bali on Monday, following her release from Kerobokan Prison. Reuters

Ms. Corby’s saga still rattles some Australians who believe she was caught in a holiday-turned-nightmare. It is common, nearly a decade after Ms. Corby’s arrest, to see Australians headed to Bali with their bags covered in security wrapping to prevent what they refer to as the “Corby experience.”
For much of Ms. Corby’s time behind bars, Australians closely followed her legal appeals, letters to Indonesia’s president for clemency, and battles with depression in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison. More recently, however, opinion polls showed that belief in her innocence dropped sharply as her family took part in media bidding wars for parts of her story.
“I am sure that this is a happy day for her, her family and her supporters,” Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters at Australia’s parliament.
Write to I Made Sentana at i-made.sentana@wsj.com

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