Media and Public Response
There was considerable media interest in and popular discussion of Schapelle Corby's predicament. The conspiracy theory that Australian baggage handlers had placed the drugs in her baggage received some attention. For many months, every minor development in the case was highlighted on prime time TV. For example, a minor "collapse" in the court engendered much erroneous speculation that she was pregnant by her former financial backer, Ron Bakir.
A poll commissioned and published in June 2005 by The Sydney Morning Herald found that opinion was divided whether Corby was guilty but there was a perception that the trial had not been carried out fairly. In Australia, over 100,000 people signed a petition that they believe Corby should be freed. In Indonesia, however, about 40 protesters gathered on 5 June 2005 at the Australian embassy in Jakarta calling for Corby to receive the death sentence and carrying placards with comments such as '"Corby, drug dealer, must die"'.
On 3 March 2008, pictures of what were said to be Corby and her sister Mercedes were shown on A Current Affair, taken after tourists noticed the women having dinner at a bar at Kuta, a town near the Bali airport. Rose denied that it was them.
A documentary concerning Corby's arrest, trial and imprisonment, Ganja Queen, was produced by Janine Hosking and Steve Hosking in 2007. An extended version, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, was aired on Australian television by the Nine Network in June 2008.
According to opinion polls at the time of Corby's arrest in 2004, most Australians believed her to be innocent. A Nielsen poll conducted in August 2010 found that 10 per cent of Australians believed she was innocent. Most Australians believe Corby should have her 20-year prison sentence reduced.
The Corby case angered many, who contrasted her prosecution with the lighter sentence given to Indonesian Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of the terrorist group which carried out the 2002 Bali bombings, killing over 200 people including 88 Australians.
After Corby's conviction, sales of luggage locks increased, and people filmed their luggage as a precautionary effort.
In early 2009, publicity agent Stephen Moriarty was appointed to represent the Corby family. A deal was agreed with New Idea magazine for a series of front cover stories to run throughout the year. The deal is thought to be worth $100,000.
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