CORBY'S LAST GASP FOR FREEDOM

Schapelle Corby's legal team launched her final court appeal today,
pinning their hopes on what they call "new" evidence that Australian
authorities last year told them did not exist.

The convicted drug smuggler fronted Bali's Denpasar District Court
today as her legal team presented a letter they said could lead to
evidence proving she was the victim of a drug ring operating at
Australian airports.

Defence lawyer Erwin Siregar said the letter from Australian Justice
Minister Chris Ellison confirmed all security cameras were operating
in Sydney Airport's baggage handling area the day Corby flew out for
Bali.

Siregar won an adjournment from the court so he could ask Australia to
track down the footage from October 8, 2004, when Corby passed through
Sydney en route to the Indonesian resort island.

Hours later she was arrested at Bali's Denpasar airport after
officials found 4.1 kg of marijuana in her unlocked bodyboard bag.

However, Senator Ellison's office had informed Corby's lawyers in July
last year that Australian Customs officials did not have any footage
of Corby, or her bags, from that day.

A spokesman from Senator Ellison's office tonight reiterated that no
such footage existed, and said the message had been conveyed several
times to Corby's lawyers.

Siregar said he would proceed with his request for footage from that
day, despite the Customs advice.

If there was no footage of Corby or her bags, it may show someone
slipping drugs into other passengers luggage, he told AAP.

"If there isn't any footage of her or the bag, we can still see
whether there is anyone trying to slip in drugs in passengers' baggage
on that day," he said.

Earlier, Siregar read aloud a 19-page submission setting out the
grounds for Corby's bid for a final appeal, known as a judicial
review, and what he called "mistakes that were made at all judicial
levels".

"The ruling was made without adhering to evidence that appeared during
hearing sessions," Siregar said, reiterating that Corby had no
knowledge of the marijuana found in her bag.

"The lack of the convict's fingerprints on the plastic cover (of the
bag in which the drugs were found) shows the fact that the convict had
no knowledge of the existence of the marijuana."

Siregar also said the prosecution failed to prove she was a drug
dealer, drug user or part of a large-scale drug running operation.

Corby, wearing a white shirt and black headscarf, looked tense this
morning as she arrived at court, where dozens of journalists jostled
for position to photograph her.

And before the hearing got under way the 29-year-old began
hyperventilating, but managed to calm herself down.

Corby's court appearances always attract a large media contingent and
today was no different, angering her family and supporters.

"Get out!" Corby's sister Mercedes yelled at photographers competing
for the best shot of the Gold Coast woman as she was led into court.

Four unidentified Australian supporters, all women, also screamed at
photographers to leave Corby alone.

"They treat her like an animal, they don't treat her like a human
being," one yelled. "It's bullshit."

In court, Corby gripped Siregar's hand as camera flashes dazzled her
for several minutes.

At one point she turned to where her brother and sister were sitting
and said to them "this is ridiculous", before the court hearing began.

The hearing will reconvene on September 6, when Siregar will be
expected to present any footage he obtains from Australian
authorities.

The Denpasar District Court is examining any new evidence submitted by
her lawyers and will later pass on the request for a judicial review
to Indonesia's Supreme Court.

In making the final appeal, Corby runs no risk of increasing her
sentence, as a judicial review can only maintain or reduce her prison
term, or acquit her altogether.