Canberra - Australia's Prime Minister John Howard has written to an Australian beauty therapist jailed in Indonesia for drug smuggling, offering government support for her appeal and promising to take a personal interest in her case.
Schapelle Corby, 28, was sentenced in May to 20 years in an Indonesian jail for smuggling 4,1kg of marijuana into the resort island of Bali in a case that has gripped and infuriated much of Australia.
Howard responded on July 9 to a letter Corby wrote from her jail cell on July 5 asking for the Australian government to help her appeal and to help prove her innocence.
"I feel for you and your family at this very difficult time," Howard said in his letter to Corby, released on Monday.
A Denpasar district court has scheduled additional hearings on July 20 to examine additional witnesses for Corby's appeal.
Corby has denied the charges and insisted the marijuana was planted in her bag by airport baggage handlers. Her lawyers want to present new witnesses, including some whom the lawyers say have been convicted of drug crimes in Australia.
Howard said the Australian government was closely monitoring Corby's case, and the decision to allow new evidence was a welcome opportunity for Corby and her defence team.
He said the Australian government would do whatever it could to help Corby's lawyers collect new evidence, and said the government has asked the Sydney Airport Authority and Qantas Airways to cooperate by allowing potential witnesses to come forward.
"Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that I will continue to take a personal interest in your case," Howard said.
Corby's conviction sparked threats against Indonesian diplomats in Australia, while the Indonesian embassy closed twice after receiving packages of what turned out to be harmless white powder.