Corby Finally Walks Free under Parole after Years in Jail

Kuta, Bali (Antara) - Schapelle Leigh Corby, finally walked free under a parole on Monday morning from her jail in Bali where she had spent two third of her prison term for drug smuggling. Corby,36, from Queensland, Australia, walked out of Kerobokan prison in Denpasar at 08.00 western local time under heavy police guard . Corby was sent to jail by an Indonesian court in 2005 for 20 years after her arrest in 2004, but she had received sentence cuts reducing her jail term to 15 years. The parole release of Corby had been widely criticized with the government accused of bowing to pressure from Australia. The government defended its decision saying the release was not because of any pressure or a generosity of the government, but "it is because of Corby's right." Corby is one of 1,291 inmates whose parole had been processed, Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said last weekend. "I do not want to speak specifically abour Schapelle. What I want to say is that this conditional parole is not a policy, not a generosity of the government . It is a law that is regulated and enacted by the government," Amir said. Drug trafficking is categorized as extraordinary crime in Indonesia like terrorism and corruption. On Sunday the National Movement Against Narcotics (Granat) strongly protested the parole regardless of the right . Crimes committed by Corby or other drug convicts are a threat to the safety of the nation, the movement chairman senior lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat said. Henry, who has been known for his campaign against clemency for convicts of extraordinary crimes, said the government should be sensitive to the public's sense of justice. Corby was arrested at the Ngurah Rai International Airport in 2004 with 4.1 kilograms of marijuana stashed in her surfing gear. Corby , however, many not leave the country until 2017 to fulfill he parole conditions. She is expected to stay with her sister Mercedes, who is married to a Balinese and lives in Bali. (*)