This is incredibly fucked up British woman could face Laos death penalty - CNN.com BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A pregnant British woman facing possible execution in Laos will go on trial this week, the country's foreign affairs ministry said Monday. \t \t \t \t \t \t \t \t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t \t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t \t\t \t \t \t \t \t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t \t \t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t \t \t \t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t Samantha Orobator became pregnant in prison, according to a spokeswoman for rights group Reprieve. \t\t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t\t \t\t \t \t Samantha Orobator "is facing death by firing squad for drug trafficking," said Clare Algar, executive director of Reprieve, a London-based human rights group. Orobator, 20, was arrested on August 5, said Khenthong Nuanthasing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman. She was alleged to have been carrying just over half a kilogram (1.1 pounds) of heroin, Reprieve lawyer Anna Morris told CNN by phone from Vientiane, the Laotian capital. "For that amount of heroin the sentence is normally the death penalty," she said. Orobator's mother Jane found out in January her daughter was pregnant -- more than four months after she was arrested, her mother said. Jane Orobator heard the news from the British Foreign Office, which has been monitoring the case, the mother told CNN by phone from Dublin, where she lives. She cannot believe her daughter was involved in drug trafficking, and was surprised to learn she was in Laos, she said. "I don't know" what she was doing there, she said. "The last time she spoke with me, she said she was on holiday in London and she would come to see us in Dublin before returning to the U.K. in July. "She is not the type of person who would be involved in drugs," she added. Reprieve is worried about her health, especially given her pregnancy, Anna Morris said. "She became pregnant in prison. We are concerned that it may not have been consensual and we are concerned that someone who finds herself in prison at 20 is subject to exploitation," she said. She is due to give birth in September, the lawyer added. Reprieve sent Morris from London to Laos to try to help Orobator, Algar said. The lawyer arrived there on Sunday and is hoping to visit Orobator on Tuesday, her boss at Reprieve said. A British consul has also arrived in the country. "Reprieve heard about her case two weeks ago. We had thought yesterday the trial was going to start today," Algar said Monday. "We have now heard from Anna that it is not going to." "I am the first British lawyer who has asked for access to her," Morris said. "She needs to have a local lawyer appointed to her. We are pressing very hard for the local authorities to appoint one." She said it was normal in the Laotian justice system for a defendant to get a lawyer only days before a trial. The last execution in Laos was in 1990, the foreign affairs spokesman said. British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell issued a statement about Orobator on Saturday. "The British Government is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We have made the Laos authorities aware of this at the highest levels in Samantha's case," he said. "We are paying close attention to her welfare and are in regular contact with the Laotian authorities about her case. British Embassy officials, including the Ambassador, have visited her six times since her arrest," he said. "In addition, Britain's consular representatives in Laos, the Australian Embassy, including the Australian Embassy doctor, have visited Samantha 10 times on our behalf," he said. There is no British Embassy in Laos. A British vice-consul arrived in the country this weekend, the Foreign Office said Monday. Rammell plans to raise the Orobator case with the Laotian deputy prime minister this week, he said. Samantha Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London with her family when she was 8, her mother said.
I can't feel even remotely sorry for her. If she tried to pull that shit in a country known for harsh punishment, then she's a tremendous fucking idiot. Man, people are so goddamn stupid sometimes....
Midnight Express has scared me away from ever trying to do anything drug related should I visit other countries.
She will not be executed. Behind the scenes the UK government will make it clear that should a British citizen be executed they will withdraw aid. The corrupt thugs who govern the place will release her rather than see their personal incomes reduce.
They definitely wont kill her, but I doubt she'll be released. Very similar situation happened to this Australian woman who was also facing the death penalty (although it was just for pot and I believe it was in Indonesia - similar drug policies). Britain knows the Laotian government has to save face, and so the only solution will be compromise. My guess would be 20-Life. Agreed that it's fucked up, but so's trafficking heroin. And regardless of what you think of morality, how stupid can you be?
*Sigh.* Horrible as it may seem... But it's most likely the truth... They're probably gonna tie her to a pole and blow her away. :\ Seriously, what is the UK gonna do if they do go ahead and do it? Yell at them and tell them that what they did was bad? Or get into a small war with a stupid little country? Think about it. It's horrible, I know. But still, this isn't the first story I've read about someone being executed by a third world country airport with drugs or some other place.
agreed and that 1.1 pounds of heroin would do much more damage to people than that firing squad would to do, however the baby thing makes it very sad. If I sound like a cock head it's because I hate heroin it killed a close family member(father) but I know it was his fault not the drugs. but still ...its a touchy subject to me
I'd like to know how she managed to get pregnant in prison after she was arrested. Sounds like at least one guard should be sitting in a cell too.
When the hell did I even mention the baby? Pay attention. And of course it's not the baby's fault; the thing didn't even exist until after the incident. It's not like it even could be, anyway: IT'S A FUCKING BABY! You really weren't going anywhere with that, were you?
I'm going to join the consensus and say that it was a very foolish thing to do. Especially since the drug she was smuggling was heroin. I do not, however, know the circumstances in which she got into this so I can't really judge her sole judgment or whether she was coerced to act in a certain way. As stated above, I doubt she'll get executed though.
read the news she isnt going to be exacuted... i think she found out that they done exacute pregnant women and she got pregnant on purpose...
Possibly, but it also wouldn't be the first time a female willingly traded sex for favors in a prison.
So far everyone thinks she was wrong for what she did but im a firm believer in doing whatever it takes to survive she didnt kill anyone or rape little kids if they dont buy heroin from here there gonna get it from somebody else. you gotta always know what your getting yourself into though. when she was gettin money everything was fine If you do the crime be prepared for the Time
if i lived there i would sell shit..i bet theres hardly any dealers and i bet prices for shit are threw the roof..just dont get caught like an idiot