Jakarta to Deport British National on Death Row, Including Lindsay Sandiford: Source
JAKARTA – Indonesian authorities are set to sign an agreement today to repatriate two British nationals, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother sentenced to death in 2013 for drug trafficking, an Indonesian government source said yesterday. the transfer will occur immediately following agreement on the technical details.
Sandiford, 68, was convicted on the island of Bali after customs officers discovered cocaine valued at approximately US$2.14 million concealed within a false compartment in her suitcase upon arrival from Thailand in 2012. She admitted to the offenses, stating she carried the narcotics due to threats against her son from a drug syndicate.
The second individual being repatriated is Shahab Shahabadi, 35, who was arrested in 2014 on drug charges and is serving a life sentence.
A press conference announcing the “release of two British nationals” is scheduled with Indonesian authorities and the British ambassador to Indonesia, according to a release from the coordinating ministry for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correction. The British embassy in Jakarta has referred all inquiries to the Indonesian government.
Indonesia maintains some of the world’s strictest drug laws,with numerous foreign nationals currently on death row for drug offenses. Recent months have seen President Prabowo Subianto’s governance repatriate several high-profile inmates convicted of drug crimes, including Filipina inmate Mary Jane Veloso in December and French national Serge Atlaoui in February.
Sandiford’s case garnered important media attention in Britain,where she penned an article detailing her fears of execution,stating in 2015 she had begun writing goodbye letters to family and planned to sing Perry Como’s “Magic Moments” before a firing squad. She befriended Andrew Chan, an Australian executed for his role in the “Bali nine” heroin smuggling operation, while incarcerated.
