Australian govt offers legal help for Corby appeal

CANBERRA - The Australian government has offered assistance to Schapelle Corby's defence team to launch a legal challenge, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.

A Bali court today sentenced Corby to 20 years in prison for trying to smuggle 4.1kg of marijuana into Indonesia.

Mr Downer told reporters that Corby's team would be offered two QCs, who had experience in Indonesian courts, on a pro bono basis.

"Schapelle Corby's team have said they will appeal this decision," he said.

"The Australian government has in the past offered the assistance on a pro bono basis of two QCs to assist Schapelle Corby's defence and we are renewing that offer to Schapelle Corby today.

"Our consul general ... will be talking to Schapelle Corby today and making the offer of the legal assistance."

Mr Downer said the government would begin discussions in the next 10 days with the Indonesians on a prisoner transfer agreement.

"We don't know how long this will take to negotiate but we know the Indonesian government is very willing to enter into negotiations on a prisoner transfer agreement," he said.

Mr Downer said any transfer could only occur after all the appeals process was completed.

"Whether such a transfer agreement would apply to Schapelle Corby would depend very much on what happened in the appeals process," he said.

Mr Downer said the federal government remained hopeful that it could quickly negotiate a prisoner transfer agreement with Indonesia before Corby's appeal process was complete.

"I think we should be able to negotiate such an agreement with Indonesia reasonably quickly but we'll have to wait and see," he said.

"But the whole question of the transfer of prisoners can't even be considered until the appeals process is complete and the appeals have been unsuccessful.

"So in those circumstances it would then be a matter for negotiation with the Indonesian government on the actual transfer, assuming that by then we had completed the prisoner transfer agreement."

He said he did not believe there was anything more the government could have done to help Corby's case.

- AAP