Security at Bali's Kerobokan Prison has been tightened.

15:45 AEST Sun May 29 2005

Security at Bali's Kerobokan Prison has been tightened amid fears that someone might try to break Schapelle Corby out.

Bali's Den post newspaper also quoted the jail's governor Bromo Setyono as saying that media attempts to see Corby were causing major security problems.

"To anticipate all possibilities, we are still on alert," he said. "Rumors of a kidnapping still exist, so the women's section is being specially guarded.

"We are checking all visitors thoroughly."

Vasu Rasiah, an adviser to Corby's Indonesian legal team, has denied reports the 27-year-old Australian is on a suicide watch. He said she was too strong a personality to harm herself, even though one of her lawyers had earlier cast doubts on her ability to survive for very long behind bars.

Nonetheless, Rasiah said Corby had asked her family and friends to stay away from the jail for the next few days. He said the media spotlight had taken its toll on Corby as well as her mother, father and other relatives moreover, many reporters have been trying to gain access to the jail by claiming to be related to Corby.

"But Schapelle also needs time to herself. She needs to recuperate. She is mentally and physically tired," Rasiah said. "Her parents need a break as well."

Corby is being held in a small cell with seven other female inmates.

She sleeps on a rolled out mattress on a concrete floor and is allowed one bucket of water a day for bathing and laundry. A fluorescent light stays on 24 hours a day, so she sleeps with an eye mask.

She is able to exercise in the jail main yard daily. She often sits near a fish pond in its centre. Corby is also a regular participant at Christian prayer services held inside the jail.

Until now she has been receiving daily visits from friends and family who bring in food, reading material and other supplies, which she has been sharing with her cellmates who are mainly poor Indonesians. Dozens of well wishers, mostly Australian holidaymakers, have also been turning up to the prison. They have been leaving messages of support.

Rasiah, who saw Corby on Saturday, said her spirits remained high, despite the shock of Friday's guilty verdict and 20-year prison sentence for smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali. "She is a strong person. With 93 per cent of Australians behind her, she told me that she would fight on," he said adding that the defence is now finalising its appeal strategy. "She really wants to thank Australia."

In the days just prior to the verdict in the Denpasar District Court, Corby had raised fears that an extremist might have tried to attack her. Security around the court was tightened for the hearing that broke down in chaos despite the deployment of more than 100 police. The Den post newspaper also reported that jail authorities had been concerned by a news crews using a building next to the prison to get a view of its grounds, and presumably Corby, behind its whitewashed walls. "We protested their behavior, if it became a base of observing that would be dangerous."

Meanwhile the prison's psychologist Denny Thong said it would take time for Corby to adjust to prison life now that her sentence had been handed down. He told the Jawa Pos newspaper that she should forget about McDonald's, start enjoying local food and learn the Indonesian language.

"Schapelle is no different to other prisoners, usually prisoners are more realistic in their attitude towards their situation they are facing after they complete one year."

15:36 AEST Mon May 30 2005

Schapelle Corby has taken the first step towards an appeal against her 20-year prison sentence for drug smuggling, but the challenge could take many months to play out.

Corby's defence lawyer Lily Lubis said in Bali that her client had signed a letter authorising the appeal to go ahead.

The letter, along with some other documents, is to be filed with the registrar of the Denpasar District Court, where Corby was found guilty last Friday. After that, Corby's defence team has 14 days to supply court authorities with written details of its appeal, which will be considered in private by a panel of judges in the Bali High Court over the coming months.

If that appeal fails the defence team can then seek an appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court. Meanwhile Corby is trying to adjust to the reality that she will now spend a long time behind bars in Bali's Kerobokan Prison.

Lubis said the 27-year-old Gold Coast woman is in good spirits although others have said that she is finding the prospect of long-term jail life depressing. Lubis said to occupy her mind Corby has taken up knitting and yoga classes, along with a newfound interest in Christianity.

The prosecutors in Corby's case, meanwhile, have filed a separate appeal against the 20-year sentence, saying the Australian should have been sent to prison for life. The prosecution filed its appeal paperwork within hours of Corby's conviction on Friday.

The actual details of the defence appeal are now being discussed in a series of meetings among Corby's various lawyers - both Indonesian and Australian. Lubis said the appeal process itself would be run by Corby's Indonesian lawyers, but they would seek advice from two Perth QCs who have offered their services. She said they could prove useful in marshalling details from aspects of the case pertaining to Australia.