Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Josh Payne

British grandmother facing execution in Bali to be repatriated

A grandmother who was facing execution by firing squad is due to be repatriated to the UK.

Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to death on the Indonesian island of Bali in January 2013 for drug trafficking after she was found with cocaine worth an estimated £1.6 million as she arrived.

The 69-year-old, who was originally from Redcar, Teeside, admitted the offences but claimed she was coerced by threats to her son’s life.

On Tuesday, an agreement was signed by Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Indonesia’s Senior Minister of Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra, which means Sandiford, alongside fellow British national Shahab Shahabadi, 35, is set to be transferred to the UK.

Sandiford and Shahabadi could be returned to the UK in around two weeks – with both suffering severe health difficulties.

A death sentence was imposed on the grandmother despite prosecutors asking only for a 15-year jail term.

Shahabadi has been serving a life sentence since 2014 after being arrested during a probe into an international drug trafficking network.

Speaking after signing the agreement, Ms Cooper said: “Both of them are facing problems.

“The first one is ill and has been examined by a doctor from the British Consulate in Bali. She is seriously ill.”

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting two British nationals detained in Indonesia and are in close contact with the Indonesian authorities to discuss their return to the UK.”

Indonesia’s last executions were carried out in July 2016.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.