Mr Corbyn was detained here in Papua for five weeks.
A 65 year old British-Australian man is released after being held in Indonesia on suspicion of spying after the yacht he was sailing in capsized along with all his papers.
Anthony Corbyn, who describes himself as a “happy adventuror” was attempting to circumnavigate the globe single-handedly in his yacht and had left Australia en route to the Philippines when his yacht struck a coral reef and sank just off the coast of Papua last month.
He was rescued and taken to Papua where officials demanded to see his papers – unfortunately they had all sunk along with the yacht and all Mr Corbyn had on him where the clothes he stood in. Yet ultra sensitive immigration officials doubted his story and suspected him of having a hidden political agenda.
Papua is the largest province of Indonesia and due to past troubles with insurgency, foreign visitors are looked on with suspicion. The Free Papua Movement (OPM) continues to threaten the government and there have been a few attempts at demonstrations which have all ended in violence. Western hostages have been held by the OPM in the past, but mainly from mining and security personnel. Surprisingly Papua doesn’t have many tourists.
The Merauke District Police Chief in Papua confirmed at the time that they had found the sunken yacht but were still investigating in case all was not as it seemed. The last time some Australians found themselves in Papua in 2008 they were held for 10 months, so Mr Corbyn has been lucky that his ordeal is finally coming to an end.
After a police investigation that last just five weeks, Mr Corbyn was finally cleared last week and told he could return to the UK. Perhaps the authorities got hold of Mr Corbyn’s non-fictional books that detail his affairs with married women. Perhaps this description of Lothario’s Diary convinced them that he was no Austin Powers: “I have been face to face with a lion, confronted by a silver-backed gorilla, charged by a bull elephant and stood firm against overwhelming enemy odds while armed with a rifle. The only thing that turns my legs to jelly is a woman’s beguiling smile.” Such a romantic!
Mr Corbyn is originally from Wiltshire but emigrated to Cairns, Australia where he now lives full-time. He is being sent back to the UK as this is his place of birth. Friends who had expressed fears about his state of health and mind will no doubt be relieved by the news.
Other related articles:
- Australian Soap Searches For British Star - Your chance to win a part in the Australian soap...
- Australian Crocs Too Much For British Adventurer! - Bear Grylls travels to Australia for Man vs Wild show....
- Australian Tornado Brings Riches to British Expat - Tornado rains down money on British expat....
- Australian Migrants Fear British Immigration Cap - UK immigration rates rise blow to Australian immigrants....
Love Australia? Let us keep you informed...
- Join the Embrace Australia community today. Have your questions answered by our experts, start your own blog, get vital migration information and gain valuable insight from those who have already made the journey.
- Subscribe to our RSS Feed and have all our daily news and features delivered straight to your news reader.
- Join our mailing list -
