UNDERWEAR model Michelle Leslie has denied that she is a drug user and a fake Muslim, and says she never wanted to profit by selling a story about her time in a Balinese prison.
Leslie, who served three months for use of ecstasy, appeared at her first media conference in Sydney yesterday as a tired, frightened young girl.
Through tears, she said she had been hurt by the hateful things people had said about her, especially that she had faked a conversion to Islam to get sympathy from the Indonesian judges.
"I am a Muslim," she said, patting her tears with a white handkerchief.
Leslie refused to answer direct questions about what happened when she was arrested in Bali three months ago with two pink ecstasy tablets in her handbag.
"I want to tell my story," she told reporters, "but I can't. The Prime Minister has said I will put other Australians (still awaiting trial on drug charges in Bali) in jeopardy."
In response, an exasperated journalist asked: "Can you stop mincing words? Won't you accept that you were busted, fair and square?"
But Leslie, who was accompanied by her father, Albert, alluded several times to their belief that she was innocent of the drugs charges.
There was a clear suggestion, too, that money had changed hands, with Mr Leslie saying he had gone into debt to see his 24-year-old daughter freed; mortgaging the family home and borrowing from friends.
Leslie's father criticised the federal Government for its lack of support, saying that Foreign Minister Alexander Downer had never contacted the family, despite living just a few streets away in Adelaide.
Leslie denied that her story was ever for sale, despite reports from several media outlets, including New Idea magazine, to the contrary. "My story is not for sale," she said.
"As for allegations that I was pretending to be a Muslim, let me say firstly that it was never my intention to offend anybody in the Muslim community."
She said she should have thought "more carefully" about wearing the burka after her arrest but she did not believe that modelling skimpy clothes made her a "bad person".
And, although she agreed that she was very happy in her relationship with millionaire auto heir Scott Sutton, she said: "For the record, I am not a wealthy person.
"My family are working-class Australians. They have spent their life savings and mortgaged their house to get me out of prison.
"As you can imagine, I feel terrible about this, and I want to go to work and repay them the money that I owe them."
Leslie refused to talk about the two other Australian women in jail in Bali, Schapelle Corby and Renae Lawrence.
Her father gave a moving account of the harrowing three months, saying he would have flown to Bali in an instant, but his daughter forbade him from seeing her "in that situation".
He, too, was "very disappointed" at the level of anger directed at her.
Mr Leslie said it hurt to watch people "kicking a person when she's down".
He described her modelling agency, Chic Management, which dumped Leslie on Thursday, as "like rats leaving a sinking ship".
Leslie said she had not believed she would be released and so she was asked if she could have survived 15 years in a Balinese prison.
Her father answered for her. "I don't know if she could, but we couldn't," he said, tears welling. "Her mum and dad could not have survived it."
I don't know I find this model to be decieving that she reverted to Islam, she's promoting a so called twisted Islam seriously there is many like her you hear of like Mike Tyson you all know him a boxer that became Muslim and Michael Jackson rumours and all these stars faking thier muslims, I call this psychological warfare there posing as these things yet their decieving and pretty popular people, I have no idea whats this world coming to but it looks devasting. Becareful my brothers and sisters out there.
“If you punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith you were afflicted. But if you endure patiently, indeed it is better for the patient. Endure you patiently. Your patience is not except through the help of Allah." (al-Nahl 16:126-127)
I dont live in Indonesia.. but very close to it, so I was able to follow this Leslie's news right from the beginning.
Honestly I dont know what to say.. but the title could have summarized the best 'I did what I had to do'. However, tt is important to see that she had already suffered a lot maybe more than she can ever imagine - her modelling career is dead anyway, her parents had spent all of their lifetime savings in order to bribe the related Indonesian officials - so maybe the best thing to do now is to just to stay and watch whether she is truthful to her word - being a Muslimah.
At first I was very sceptical seeing her clad in burqah, and then the court declaration of her being a Muslim. And then, I got mad seeing her photo on the day of her release - where she was pictured wearing short tight with jean. Definitely not Islamic, and she was also reported drinking wine during her flight from Bali to Australia (or is it Singapore).
We can not say whether shes a muslim or not. This is not for us to judge. If she says she is, then i believe her and i ask Allah to help her and strengthen her emaan...ameen. You see, i too was a muslim with very weak faith. I had converted, but i was not in hijab, and was still going out clubbing. However i was still praying...and through my prayers Allah helped me to wear hijab and once i did that, i got rid of all the rubbish in my life. Allah guides who He wills.
True - there was speculation here in Australia.
But I dont think we should really judge. If she says she is muslim, alhamdulillah. May Allah guide her to the right kind of company - if she were in the right company of people, she may get to learn more about our faith. Inshallah.
salam
I too, living in Australia, followed the case and was amazed to discover that she was a muslim. If she says she is, then i believe her, who am i to deny that she is a muslim when she says so her self (a very serious crime and accusation). Lets not forget that there are people born in to islamic families who only need to open their fridge to drink alcohol. May Allah guide us all.
By the way, for those unaware of this case, Michelle Leslie is an Australian, a former underwear model, who was caught in Indonesia with drugs. Her case, like many overseas drugs cases, was followed closely by the Australian media.
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