Australian woman jailed for drug smuggling in Indonesia

JAKARTA,Friday (AFP) In a verdict likely to generate outrage in her homeland, a young Australian woman was Friday sentenced to 20 years in prison for smuggling marijuana into the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Judge Linton Sirait said 27-year-old Schapelle Corby was guilty of carrying 4.1 kilograms (nine pounds) of the drug onto the island last October despite her claims it had been placed in her surfboard bag by a smuggling ring.

The student beautician broke down in tears as Sirait said her crime had been "legally and convincingly" proven. She hugged her father and mother after the verdict, smiling weakly and repeatedly reassuring them: "It's okay, it's okay".

The case has generated fanatical interest in Australia, where polls show most people were convinced of her innocence. Her trial, which could have resulted in a death sentence, has been front page news for months. Friday's sentence - including a 100 million rupiah (10,500 dollars) fine - could cause frictions between Jakarta and Canberra at a time when their often prickly relationship is improving. Security has been tightened at Indonesian missions in Australia following earlier death threats.

Unrelenting media attention has prompted the involvement of Austrialia's government, which has urged Indonesia not to use the death penalty and mooted a one-off prisoner exchange deal that could see Corby repatriated.

Holidaymakers have warned they will boycott Bali, which desperately needs Australian cash to revive its tourism industry after an October 2002 bomb attack by Islamic extremists that killed 202 people, many of them Australian.

Analysts say Corby's case has touched a nerve for many Australians who for years have seen Bali as their tropical playground and fear that they could find themselves imprisoned in a squalid cell for crimes they did not commit.