UK grandmother freed from Indonesia's death row returns home
Two British citizens convicted of drug offences, including a grandmother who had spent more than ten years on death row in Indonesia, arrived in the United Kingdom on Friday.
Indonesia is known for its strict narcotics laws but has recently released several high-profile prisoners. One of them, 69-year-old Lindsay Sandiford, was sentenced to death in 2013 on Bali for attempting to smuggle cocaine valued at more than $2.14 million. She was freed on humanitarian grounds together with 36-year-old Shahab Shahabadi, who had been given a life sentence after his 2014 arrest for drug crimes.
The two departed Bali on a Qatar Airways flight to London via Doha, as confirmed by an official from Indonesia’s law and human rights ministry.
Upon arrival at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, Sandiford was seen in a wheelchair, escorted by security personnel and covering her face with her jacket.
“Two British nationals who were detained in Indonesia have now returned to the UK,” said a spokesperson for the British Foreign Office.
At a handover ceremony in Bali’s Kerobokan Prison, Indonesian official I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram stated that their “detention will be moved to the United Kingdom” under the agreement between the two countries.
Author’s summary
After years on Indonesia’s death row, Lindsay Sandiford and another British inmate have returned to the UK following a diplomatic transfer based on humanitarian reasons.