Government and Corby lawyers at loggerheads

18:25 AEST Mon Aug 1 2005

The Australian government and Schapelle Corby's legal team are again at loggerheads over what is being done to help her beat her 20-year jail term for drug trafficking.

Corby's lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea has renewed complaints that the Australian government has not helped her enough ahead of a new court appearance billed as her best shot at freedom.

Justice Minister Chris Ellison has offered to meet Mr. Hutapea when he travels to Indonesia on Tuesday.

But the lawyer turned down the invitation because he will be preparing for Corby's reopened trial, due to resume on Wednesday.

Mr. Hutapea reportedly cannot meet the minister because he will be talking to two Qantas employees who will testify at the hearing.

In a letter to Mr. Hutapea last Friday, Senator Ellison outlined what information Australian authorities needed to facilitate further help on the Corby's case.

In particular, the Australian government needs to know whether it has to organise video link facilities for Australians providing remote evidence for the hearing.

In an outburst on radio, Mr. Hutapea claimed he was being given the runaround by Australian authorities.

"Your government makes me sick, makes me crazy, and I don't understand how come a government like this exists," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"One and a half months I fight for this, I don't receive any telephone calls from any government, even your embassy here.

"I do good things for your own citizens here, pro bono, none of your government, even your embassy in Jakarta, call us."

Mr. Hutapea said he had been told, through letters from the government, to go to the NSW government, the Queensland government and ultimately the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in his quest for immunity for witnesses he wants to call.

He said securing immunity could lead to at least one person changing their testimony over the ownership of the drugs Corby was convicted of taking to Bali.

But the Australian government appears equally frustrated by what is happening in the Corby case.

Senator Ellison said he had not received any reply to important questions he had put to Mr. Hutapea, including whether the Indonesian courts would allow video-link evidence from any Australian witnesses.

"We do understand that there is a person in custody that is willing to give evidence but only by video-link and that is why it is so important."

Senator Ellison was unsure what exactly he had done to earn the wrath of Mr. Hutapea.

"I fail to understand how what I have been doing would cause Mr. Hutapea any concern."

Senator Ellison said he had promptly answered all Mr. Hutapea's letters, had provided witness statements, and made arrangements to facilitate video-link conferencing.

"I really don't know how much more we can do and I think that for Mr. Hutapea to criticise the Australian government is really unfair and quite misleading, I understand that publicly he has rejected (my offer to meet him) and my office is still endeavoring to make contact with his office to see if he wants to talk to me on the telephone."

Corby, 28, is serving a 20-year jail term after she was caught with 4.1kg of cannabis in her body board bag at Bali's Denpasar Airport last October.

Mr. Hutapea has said a man was willing to testify via video-link to Bali's Denpasar District Court that Corby was the unwitting mule for the gang that stashed 4.1 kg of marijuana in her bag before she flew to Bali.

15:26 AEST Wed Aug 3 2005

Three Balinese judges hearing Schapelle Corby's case have refused to grant her Indonesian lawyers more time to find new witnesses.

Corby broke down in tears in the Denpasar District Court when the decision was handed down, effectively ending her reopened trial.

She was later taken back to her cell at Bali's Kerobokan prison.

The Denpasar District Court later reopened the case on appeal, but her lawyers failed to produce key witnesses.

To keep her hopes of freedom alive, Corby's defence team must now lodge a second appeal and ask for more time from a higher court.