Jakarta, Indonesia
AP
—
A British woman and another Briton serving a life sentence will be repatriated to avoid the death penalty for drug smuggling in Indonesia under a deal signed between the two countries on Tuesday.
Lindsay Sandiford, 68, has been imprisoned in Bali since 2012. She was arrested at the resort island’s airport after authorities found 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine worth $2.5 million hidden in the lining of her suitcase. During the trial, she said she was forced to transport drugs by a gang that threatened children.
She was sentenced to death by firing squad, a sentence upheld by Indonesia’s Supreme Court in 2013.
Another inmate, Shahab Shahabadi, 35, has been serving a life sentence since 2014. He was arrested in Jakarta following an investigation into an international drug trafficking network. He previously sent 30 kilograms (15 pounds) of methamphetamine powder from Iran to a partner in several shipments for distribution in Jakarta, before eventually arriving in Jakarta himself, prosecutors said.
Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, said: “Both men are facing challenges. The first is ill and is being seen by doctors at the British Consulate in Bali. He is seriously ill and is 68 years old.” She signed a repatriation agreement with Indonesia’s Senior Minister of Justice Yusuru Isa Mahendra.
Indonesia, under the government of President Prabowo Subianto, has repatriated several foreign prisoners under bilateral agreements with other countries. They included a Filipino citizen facing the death penalty for drug charges and five Australians convicted of heroin trafficking.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says Indonesia is a major drug smuggling hub despite having some of the world’s toughest drug laws, in part because international drug syndicates target the country’s youth.
Indonesia has about 530 people on death row, mostly for drug-related crimes, including nearly 100 foreigners, data from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections revealed last month. The last execution in Indonesia took place in July 2016, when one citizen and three foreigners were executed.
