Schapelle Corby has her first steps to freedom, leaving Kerobokan prison with family by her side.
Schapelle was shocked by the throng of journalists and onlookers waiting for her to be released.
Prison governor Farid Junaedi told reporters that Schapelle “could not believe the media attention present’’, after she was jostled into a waiting special prison van.
More than nine years after she was caught attempting to smuggle 4kg Schapelle is now in the process of being released.
The governor of the jail confirmed that there was a “family member’’ with Schapelle when she was released but did not specify who.
Indonesian prison authorities backed a special van up to the door of Kerobokan jail which will now take Schapelle and six other prisoners to the local prosecutors office to begin for processing ahead of her release on parole.
There she will be fingerprinted and before being taken to the local parole office to discuss her conditions of release. These include being of good behaviour and adhering to reporting conditions.
After the paperwork is completed she will be released and is expected to live with her sister Mercedes in the family compound in the heart of Kuta.
It’s likely to be a slow journey in the prison van with an enormous media contingent surrounding the vehicle and clogging the already congested roads.
The governor of Kerobokan Prison Farid Junaedi arrived at the prison with the necessary paperwork to free Schapelle Corby early this morning.
He has since processed Schapelle’s parole papers for her release.
It’s the moment the 36-year-old beautician from the Gold Coast has dreamed about for almost 10 years, but as she edges ever closer towards regaining her freedom, it is a day not without bittersweet emotions.
Schapelle has said her teary goodbyes to the friends she’s made while on the inside, including those fellow Australian members of the Bali Nine, who are facing the death penalty or have no hope of parole.
Perhaps knowing that she could easily have been like any of them and been sentenced to face the firing squad or die in jail, Schapelle spent Sunday afternoon saying her farewells to fellow drug smugglers, death row inmates Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who were part of a foiled plot in 2005 to bring 8.3kg of heroin into Australia from Bali.
While overwhelmed at the prospect of leaving the prison, Schapelle also “felt sorry for the Australians she will be leaving behind,’’ reports the Australian Women’s Weekly.
“She was sharing a few laughs with them, hugging them and saying her goodbyes,” a prison source told the magazine.
“There were a few tears. They’ve been living the same hell.’’
Schapelle was also moved to tears as she farewelled the six other women who she has shared a cell with, giving away many of the meagre possessions she has collected over the years, including the cuddly toys that brought her comfort.
Her paintings and the hand-made jewellery she has made over the years will be taken with her when she leaves, a constant reminder of the years spent in prison.
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