Death Row Gran to Fly Home to UK After Cheating Firing Squad
Lindsay Sandiford is scheduled to board a UK-bound flight from Bali today after spending 13 years on death row for smuggling cocaine. The 69-year-old pensioner was spared the firing squad and has been given a £600 plane ticket funded by the UK government.
The former legal secretary, sentenced to death in 2013 for smuggling £1.6 million worth of cocaine into Indonesia, will have a brief layover before arriving at London Heathrow Airport after a 20-hour journey.
"Lindsay is extremely unwell. She is desperate to get home and to be with her family. More than a decade in one of the world's worst prisons has taken its toll on her and she wants nothing more than to get back to the UK."
Sandiford is expected to leave her cell in Kerobokan jail this afternoon alongside Shahab Shahabadi, a fellow UK national. Shahabadi, 35, was detained in June 2014 and is serving a life sentence for drug offenses.
The two will travel by car for 45 minutes to Denpasar International Airport, where they will be handed over to the UK Ambassador Dominic Jermey. Before boarding, they will appear in front of the media one last time, flanked by British officials.
Summary
Lindsay Sandiford is finally returning to the UK after 13 years on death row in Indonesia, highlighting the human cost of prolonged incarceration and international legal efforts.