Drug smuggler released in Indonesia, makes millions in interview, memoir
Schapelle Corby
An Australian woman convicted of smuggling marijuana into Indonesia walked free from jail on Monday after being given parole, the latest chapter in what has been a media sensation in her home country since her arrest on the tourist island of Bali in 2005, the Daily Mail reported.
Schapelle Corby's case captured the imagination of many in Australia, where initial sympathy for her plight and nationalist outrage in the aftermath of two terrorist attacks targeting Australian interests in the country made for a potent combination for popular and highbrow media alike.
The 35-year-old said nothing as she left Bali's Kerobokan prison Monday through a large crowd of reporters.
But this is only the beginning of her story. Australian media has reported that Channel 7 has negotiated a deal with Corby for an exclusive interview for the “Sunday Night” program at a reported price of 3 million Australian dollars (slightly higher than U.S. dollars).
The initial offer was for 1 million dollars but the competition reached a point where it had to be tripled, sources close to the deal said.
Currently, Corby is believed to have checked into the Sentosa Luxury Villa on Bali with the staff from Channel 7.
In addition to the exclusive interview, Corby is expected to make millions more b writing a memoir about the experience in trial and subsequent detention in the the Indonesian prison.
Her release from prison was carried live on TV networks across Australia and plastered on websites of the nation's major newspapers. Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, briefly emerged from her Queensland home to spray champagne and whoop with glee.
"It was just beautiful to see my beautiful Schapelle come out from those doors," Rose told Australia's Channel 7 news while clutching a glass of champagne.
Corby was convicted of smuggling 4.2 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana onto Bali in a boogie board bag and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In 2010, she asked for clemency, citing her poor mental state. Two years later, Indonesia's president cut her sentence by five years.
Corby will have to stay in Bali and cannot return to Australia until 2017.
Narratives of Westerners in Asia jails have always been popular among a section of western consumers, and Australia is no exception. Initially at least, many Australians appeared to believe Corby was innocent, though that view become less commonly heard over time.
compared to some of those convicted of minor roles in relation to the Bali bombings.
At least two other Australians are on death row in Indonesian drug smuggling cases, and several are serving long prison terms. They have received much less coverage that the Corby case.