Three-month jail reduction was granted in the 20-year sentence imposed on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby

three-month jail reduction was granted in the 20-year sentence imposed on Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, the second time authorities had cut the 31-year-old’s sentence after it was reduced by three months in 2006.
Corby is now expected to be freed by April 12, 2024, said Yon Suharyono, the head of the Kerobokan penitentiary on Bali Island, where Corby is being held.
Renae Lawrence, the only female member of the so-called “Bali Nine” ring of Australian heroin traffickers, also received a four-month cut from her 20-year sentence, Suharyono said.But for the first time this year, those convicted of terrorism, illegal logging and corruption will not get sentence reductions.
In his annual state of the union Friday, President Yudhoyono said that his government was strongly committed to fighting corruption, terrorism and drugs. He also warned that terrorism remained a threat to the country despite various achievements in combating such attacks.“The security apparatus has managed to arrest, prosecute and sentence the perpetrators but we must continue to heighten our vigilance,” Yudhoyono said.Indonesia achieved independence from Dutch colonial rule in 1945.The day’s celebrations included the popular “Panjat Pinang”, where competitors struggle to climb to the top of a greased betel nut palm trunk. The prizes ranged from plastic buckets to a new motorcycle.

David Bruce Houston is facing up to 10 years in jail after prosecutors on the Indonesian resort island of Bali accused him of possessing drugs.

Australian man is facing up to 10 years in jail after prosecutors on the Indonesian resort island of Bali accused him of possessing drugs.
Police found 3.5 grams of marijuana when they raided a house rented by David Bruce Houston in the Kuta tourist district on December 12, a state prosecutor told a Bali court.Houston, 38, is charged with possessing and keeping an illegal dangerous substance. He also faces two subsidiary charges, narcotics consumption and being an addict.The court heard witness statements from three police officers and a neighbour. The defendant's 19-year-old Indonesian wife testified in his favour.
Houston is one of a number of Australians to have been arrested for drugs possession or trafficking in Bali in recent years.Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 for smuggling marijuana into Bali. She had her final appeal overturned last week.She is housed in the same island prison as the so-called Bali Nine, who were convicted of smuggling heroin from Indonesia to Australia in 2005.
Houston's trial will resume next week.

Former prison security chief on the resort island of Bali to four years in jail for drugs and weapons offences

An Indonesian court has sentenced a former prison security chief on the resort island of Bali to four years in jail for drugs and weapons offences.
Muhammad Sudrajat was found guilty of possessing 0.2 grams of crystal methamphetamine, also known locally as "shabu", and 50 rounds of ammunition.
Sudrajat's arrest in September last year had prompted Indonesian police to investigate reports of a drug network in Bali's Kerobokan prison where at least 10 Australians are serving heavy sentences for drug offences.
Police had initially suspected Sudrajat of having acted as a middleman, bringing drugs in and out of the prison, but the suspicion was not proven in court.Drugs are rife in Indonesian prisons and there are also frequent cases of prison staff being bribed.Sudrajat said after the conviction that he was sorry for tarnishing the image of the Bali prison.
"I'm satisfied that the judges have made an objective decision," he told reporters.
Indonesia imposes the death sentence for many narcotic offences, defending the penalty as necessary to deter others in a country with a growing drugs problem.
The Supreme Court this month commuted to life imprisonment the death sentences for three of six Australians on death row for trying to smuggle out of Bali 8.2 kg (18 lb) of heroin.

Schapelle Corby denied allegations she and sister Mercedes were spotted eating at a Bali restaurant last month.

Indonesia authorities say they oppose transferring prisoners convicted of drug crimes or terrorism back to Australia, dealing a blow to the hopes of the Bali Nine and Schapelle Corby.
Australia and Indonesia have been negotiating a prisoner exchange deal for more than two years. Indonesia says there are still a number of sticking points between the two countries, including how long inmates must serve before being transferred.
Indonesian Justice and Human Rights Ministry spokesman Kolier Haryanto said Indonesian negotiators believed prisoners jailed for terrorism and drugs crimes would be left out of any deal. "What was agreed (between Indonesian negotiators) is that in the first place that terrorism and drugs was not in it," Mr Haryanto said.
"But we can still talk about it.
"It's still optional. I mean that's not the Indonesian fixed position."
He said most of the other issues related to "technical" matters, such as which authority was responsible for the transfer and who would pay.
An Australian embassy spokesman said Australia was committed to concluding a deal, but it was inappropriate to comment on how the treaty would be applied in particular cases. Earlier, Indonesia's prisons director general Untung Sugiyono said there was still disagreement about whether people convicted of drugs crimes could be transferred back to Australia. "What I know is there's still one thing not matched," he said. "We don't want to give (the transfer) to those who are involved in drugs."
Mr Sugiyono met Corby as he inspected Kerobokan Prison yesterday.
Corby used the meeting to reject reports she had been allowed to go on outings from the prison, saying she had been let of out her Bali prison home three times in the past four years - for medical reasons.
Corby denied allegations she and sister Mercedes were spotted eating at a Bali restaurant last month.
"I will have been here for four years in a little while,'' she said.
"I have been out three times to have my tooth taken out only, and that's all.
"Only for half an hour.''
Her comments followed claims reported in the Australian media that Corby had been photographed by an Australian tourist dining out on the Indonesian resort island.
Corby said the claims were an attempt to get money.
"That's just some people who want to eat some money,'' Corby Mr Sugiyono in Indonesian.
Corby is serving a 20-year prison term after her arrest at Bali airport in 2004 with 4.2kg of marijuana in her boogy board bag.
She has always said she is innocent.
Meanwhile, the former head of security at the prison was today found guilty of drugs and weapons charges. Mohammad Sudrajat was sentenced to four years' imprisonment after Denpasar District Court found him guilty of possessing crystal methamphetamine (ice) and illegally possessing ammunition for a firearm.
At the time of his arrest last year, Sudrajat was head of security at Kerobokan Prison, where the Bali Nine heroin smugglers and Corby are housed.

Melasti Three Death sentences Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Matthew Norman to life sentences

Sydney-man Matthew Norman along with two others; Thanh Duc Tan Nguyen and Si Yi Chen, are to have their death sentences reduced to life. Known as the Malasti Three following their arrest at a hotel of that name in 2005, the three later had their sentences increased by Indonesia's court system, despite an appeal. Australian Scott Rush, who is also on death row, is now in the final stages of preparing a review into his own case, with the ruling seen as a positive step for Rush's own appeal.
Rush had the same treatment during appeal, with the Indonesian courts actually increasing his sentence to death following the appeal. In his first televised interview this month, Rush said that he had little idea of the consequences because of his only minor travel experience. "I didn't know what I was risking, I didn't know there was a death penalty, I didn't know anything about Bali really," he said.
Mr Rush went on to say that he regretted the decision, and the problems it had caused to his family, adding that the thought of execution weighed daily.
"They had a lot of... expectance for me I guess, I mean I do feel bad... It weighs on my mind pretty much every second of the day," he said.
"I mean I can't have a normal conversation like I used to be able to because of this.
"It's always in my mind. Always in the back of my head or it stops sometimes at the front."
Three Australians convicted of heroin smuggling in Indonesia have had their death sentences reduced to life imprisonment, their lawyer said Thursday.Judges in Jakarta decided to spare the lives of three of the so-called "Bali Nine" gang of drug smugglers who tried to traffic heroin from the Indonesian resort island of Bali back to Australia in 2005."The Supreme Court made its ruling about four days ago and it commutes the death sentences for Si Yi Chen, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen and Matthew Norman to life sentences," lawyer Erwin Siregar told AFP by telephone from Bali.The three, now aged between 21 and 24, were arrested in a hotel room in Bali with a small quantity of heroin shortly after others in the gang were arrested at the island's airport.The gang's three ring leaders, Scott Rush, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, remain on death row, while the three other members are serving prison sentences ranging from life to 20 years.Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the government was trying to confirm the court's decision."If the reports are accuratethen of course it's very welcome," he told Nine Network television.Australian media said court documents and an interview with one of the judges revealed that the trio's previous good character, and their youth, had influenced the decision to drop the death sentences.Judge Hakim Nyak Pha said there had been "intense discussion" about what penalty was appropriate, Australia's Daily Telegraph reported. "They are not masterminds," the judge said.The three had expressed remorse and apologised to the court.Chen, Nguyen and Norman were known as the Melasti Three because they were arrested at the Melasti hotel in Bali.None of the three had drugs on them at the time, but police found 350 grammes of heroin in a suitcase in their room.Siregar, their lawyer, said he had been informally notified of the Supreme Court ruling and that he was seeking a copy of the official verdict.
The spokesman of the Indonesian Supreme Court could not be immediately reached for comments.

Schapelle Corby's chances of returning to Australia to serve out the rest of her 20-year sentence have been boosted following confidential negotiation

Corby, arrested in 2004 at Bali's Denpasar airport after 4.2kg of marijuana was found in her body board bag, was jailed for 20 years but has maintained her innocence.She was denied an expected reduction in her sentence at Christmas because she had been found in possession of a mobile phone several months earlier. Six weeks ago her father died in Queensland after a long battle with cancer.Schapelle Corby's chances of returning to Australia to serve out the rest of her 20-year sentence have been boosted following confidential negotiations.In the past some members of her family have suggested she would prefer to remain in Kerobokan prison rather than return to Australia. But friends have since dismissed these claims, saying Schapelle would welcome any chance to be close to her Gold Coast family, possibly in a women's correctional centre near Brisbane.Corby has described Kerobokan prison as a disgusting slum with no running water or power. A plan last year to move her to another jail in Java hundreds of kilometres away was shelved when authorities later declared that conditions at Kerobokan had improved.
Home Affairs minister Bob Debus has held high-level talks in Jakarta aimed at finalising a prisoner transfer treaty with Indonesia that could bring Corby home within a year.Mr Debus met with Indonesia's Attorney-General and Foreign Minister a week ago to hammer out details of the proposed treaty, which has languished over the past 18 months after negotiations stalled on several crucial details.A signed treaty would allow Corby and at least three members of the Bali Nine to serve out the remainder of their sentences in Australian jails, close to family and in more comfortable conditions than those in Bali's Kerobokan prison.The government is committed to securing a workable and effective prisoner transfer agreement with Indonesia, Mr Debus said. "I raised the matter at the highest levels with the Attorney-General and the Foreign Minister – the talks were constructive and our two countries are making progress towards resolving some of the ongoing concerns," Mr Debus said.It is believed Mr Debus is not the first cabinet minister to raise the possibility of signing off on a prisoner transfer deal since the government's election victory last November.A succession of Government figures have visited Jakarta since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made it clear he wanted relations between Australia and Indonesia to improve during his three-year term. A prisoner transfer treaty is seen as a crucial plank in the new relationship. But several sticking points remain with the Indonesian government remain. , including how to marry the Australian system of applying parole conditions with the Indonesia practice of handing out remissions for good behaviour.

While the new treaty is expected to be applied retrospectively, it will not provide any comfort for members of the Bali Nine heroin ring on death row. Six of the nine face death by firing squad. , including ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, along with drug mule Scott Rush. Mr Rudd told Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shortly after the election that he would make a personal appeal for clemency for the six Australians on death row if their subsequent legal appeals fail.

Indonesia has asserted that death row prisoners be excluded from any prisoner transfer treaty because Australia does not practice capital punishment.
The treaty could send three others, including convicted drug mule Renae Lawrence – the only female member of the Bali Nine – to Australia to complete their 20-year sentences.Australia already has prisoner transfer treaties in place with Thailand, Vietnam and China. The new treaty with Indonesia was first raised several years ago and former Attorney General Philip Ruddock had hoped to have it signed in 2006.But negotiations stalled soon after following a deterioration in the relationship between the two countries. By the middle of last year an impasse had been reached that made it seem unlikely the deal would ever be finalised.

Scott Rush Bali Nine member " I didn't know it was the death penalty."

These are dark days for Scott Rush. The 22-year-old from Brisbane is far from home in a foreign prison, with little to think of but impending death at the hands of an Indonesian executioner.
He was originally sentenced to life in prison for his role in an attempt to smuggle eight kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia in 2005.
He appealed, but rather than being shortened, his sentence was increased to death
Scott Rush Bali Nine member has spoken publicly for the first time about receiving the death penalty for drug smuggling.The 22-year-old from Brisbane was one of several of his colleagues sentenced to death in 2006 after being caught trying to smuggle heroin.On SBS TV's Cutting Edge program tonight, Rush describes his regret over his actions."There is a number of factors involved. I didn't have a concrete job at the time, I was waiting to go to the Air Force," he said. "I think about this and sometimes the answer changes. ... I didn't know what I was risking, I didn't know it was the death penalty, I didn't know anything about Bali, really."But Rush says he still holds hope that he will one day walk free from jail."It's always on my mind, always in the back of my head," he said."You reckon you're going to make it through and ... get out of here. I feel that I will; obviously I'm hoping that I will."[I am] continuously thinking about it every day.".Five other members of the drug syndicate are also facing execution.

Perth man

Perth man has been arrested in Bali on suspicion of possessing drugs.
The Department says officials from the Australian Consulate in Bali have visited the man in prison, where he has been held since his arrest six days ago.
Balinese Police say the 38-year-old man, identified only by his initials, B-D-B, was arrested at the house he rented in the tourist area of Kuta late Saturday evening.
Police say they found 3.5 grams of marijuana in one of his trouser pockets.
Possession of illegal drugs carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment in Indonesia

Schapelle Corby

Schapelle Corby has been denied a Christmas reductionin her sentence.Jail officials told Corby she had been denied a reduction of up to two months in her sentence as she waited yesterday for a visit from family members, including her mother Rosleigh Rose and sister Mercedes.
Restricting visits will be a harsh additional punishment for the
Australians, including six young drug mules facing execution.
Mr Djaja denied that Corby and jail guards had been sharing
money paid for visits by tourists. He said the new rules wouldapply only to Australian prisoners.The news was better yesterday for Renae Lawrence, the only female member of the Bali nine drug ring that tried to smuggle 8.2
kilograms of heroin into Australia in 2005.Mr Djaja said he had recommended to officials in Jakarta that Lawrence’s 20-year sentence be cut.Mr Djaja said Corby was not among 81 prisoners recommended for a sentence reduction to mark yesterday’s religious holiday in Indonesia because she had been caught with a mobile phone this
year.She also missed out on a sentence reduction marking Indonesia’s Independence Day in August.

Three Australians death penalty

Indonesia upheld the death penalty for serious drug offences for three Australians facing execution for trying to smuggle heroin off the resort island of Bali. Lawyers for the three men had hoped a successful constitutional challenge would add weight to their final appeal to the Supreme Court, which had previously escalated their sentence from life imprisonment to death. Should that appeal fail, their last available avenue would be a direct plea to Indonesia's president. The Constitutional Court ruled 6 to 3 that a 2000 constitutional amendment upholding the right to life did not apply to capital punishment. The court added that the right to life had to be balanced against the rights of victims of drug trafficking. Three other Australians on death row here had hoped that a constitutional ruling might lead to a review of their case. Three other Australians are serving between 20 years and life for their involvement in the smuggling ring. The so-called Bali Nine were arrested in 2005 for trying to smuggle 8.2 kilograms, or 18 pounds, of heroin into Australia from Bali

Michelle Leslie

Australian model, Michelle Leslie, 24, was charged in Bali for the illegal possession of two ecstasy tablets after her arrest. She was given a three-month sentence

Barry Hess,50 executive from Melbourne could face the death penalty

Barry Hess,50 executive from Melbourne could face the death penalty in Bali after prosecutors decided to charge him with trafficking marijuana and hashish.
a former Ansett executive and general manager of Bali's collapsed airline Air Paradise, was arrested last month after police allegedly found 14.4 grams of hashish and 2.7 grams of marijuana in his Kuta home.
Initially police charged Hess with drug possession, which carries a 10-year sentence.

Schapelle Corby has been denied a Christmas Day reduction

Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has been denied a Christmas Day reduction in her sentence because she had a mobile phone in her jail cell earlier this year.
The governor of Bali's Kerobokan Prison Ilham Djaja today said Corby was not among 81 prisoners recommended for a sentence reduction to mark today's religious holiday in Indonesia.
"We didn't suggest her (to have sentence reduction) because she is still under punishment over violation of hand phone usage inside the prison a few months ago," Djaja said.
"One violation means one year of no remission," Djaja said.
It is the second time Corby has been denied a sentence reduction this year because of the mobile phone indiscretion, with the Gold Coast beauty student also missing out on Indonesia's Independence Day in August.
Corby was arrested in October 2004 at Denpasar Airport with 4.2kg of marijuana in her boogie board bag after arriving on a flight from Australia.
She was jailed for 20 years but has maintained her innocence.

Nicholas Bernard Taylor

Nicholas Bernard Taylor, a Sydney DJ who regularly performs in northern NSW and the Gold Coast.
It said Taylor was among three people arrested on suspicion of possessing a small amount of hashish, heroin and cocaine.
Taylor was arrested on Sunday night after police raided a party at a private villa in Kerobokan, it said.

5 years for drug dealing

50 year old from Scotland who is doing 5 years for drug dealing. He filled me in pretty well on how the arrest and conviction process works over here. I must say it takes your breath away! When I think of the slack attitude most tourists in Bali have towards drugs when the reality is that possession is considered a serious offence and marijuana a Class A drug, I shudder. There are people here doing 20 years for drugs and they are going nowhere unless a Solution can be reached. My interviewee told me all about Solutions and it also blew me away.

Schapelle Corby

Schapelle Corby is languishing in a Balinese jail as are the Bali Nine, and now, a young woman of only 42 years of age is facing jail time in Lombok for her part in possessing and dealing drugs in Indonesia. At one time she was initially facing drug charges which carried a maximum penalty of death. A long-term resident of Lombok, Higgs ran a small resort with her husband Melvin before she was arrested after a raid on her home in February.
She was charged with using and dealing marijuana which is classed as a narcotic under Indonesia's tough drug laws. Prosecutors have demanded a one year jail sentence for the woman arrested in the city of Mataram for possession of 49.6 grams of marijuana. She told the police that she bought the drug for Rp 500,000 for her own use.

Bali Party Arrests

3 foreign men from Italy, Australia and Belgium were arrested at a Kerobokan villa during a raid on a party.
Its quite possible that some of those arrested had nothing to do with drugs, but were simply in the vicinity. In all likelihood the person who sold the drugs, heard about the upcoming party and informed on them. The Scottish fellow I interviewed inside Kerobokan jail a while back claimed he was arrested for being in the vicinity of a drug transaction, but had no part in it.