A British woman has been sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug
smuggling, a court official said Tuesday. "We never expected the death
penalty," the defense attorney is quoted as saying. FULL STORY
January 22, 2013 -- Updated 1812 GMT (0212 HKT)
Lindsay June Sandiford leaves a prison holding cell after her trial at a court in Denpasar, Bali, on Tuesday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- "We never expected the death penalty," the defense attorney is quoted as saying
- A rights group says Lindsay Sandiford is a vulnerable woman exploited by a drug gang
- The 56-year-old has 14 days in which to appeal the sentence, Reprieve says
- Sandiford was arrested after officials found cocaine worth $2.6 million in her luggage
Prosecutors in Bali had
asked for a 15-year sentence for Lindsay June Sandiford, who was
arrested last May carrying what officials said was cocaine worth an
estimated $2.6 million.
But a panel of judges opted Tuesday to hand down the death penalty.
Their decision was based on the defendant having shown no regret for what she did, Indonesian state news agency Antara reported.
Sandiford, from northeast
England, was found to have blocks of cocaine weighing 4.7 kilograms
(10.4 pounds) in her suitcase when she arrived on the island of Bali in
May, the court heard.
"We were surprised by the
decision, because we never expected the death penalty," Ezra Karo Karo,
a lawyer acting for Sandiford, is quoted by Antara as saying.
He said the judge did not
consider mitigating circumstances in his client's case, such as that
she acted under the threat of violence to her family, the news agency
reported.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed the sentence but said only that it would continue to provide consular assistance.
"The UK remains strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances," a Foreign Office statement said.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has strict laws against drug trafficking.
The head of Bali's
Customs and Excise Agency monitoring division, Made Wijaya, warned at
the time of her arrest that Sandiford could face execution if convicted.
"The main reason is
because narcotics can massively endanger the young and, thus, whoever is
caught with drugs should be severely punished. If three people can
consume one gram of cocaine, then this operation has potentially saved
up to 14,000 lives," he said.
The UK-based group
Reprieve, which works to secure the human rights of prisoners around the
world, said Sandiford was a vulnerable person who should not have been
sentenced so harshly.
"Lindsay has always
maintained that she only agreed to carry the package to Bali after
receiving threats against the lives of her family," said Harriet
McCulloch of Reprieve.
"She is clearly not a
drug kingpin -- she has no money to pay for a lawyer, for the travel
costs of defense witnesses or even for essentials like food and water.
"She has cooperated
fully with the Indonesian authorities but has been sentenced to death
while the gang operating in the UK, Thailand and Indonesia remain free
to target other vulnerable people."
Any appeal for Sandiford must be filed within 14 days, McCulloch said in a written statement.
"It is vital that the
British government do everything possible to support Lindsay's appeal
against the death sentence," she added.
Sandiford's lawyer told Antara that it was likely that his client would appeal the sentence.
Reprieve says that after
her arrest, Indonesian police interrogated Sandiford without a
translator, legal representation or the assistance of the British
Embassy for 10 days.
The U.S. State Department warns travelers to Indonesia of the risks of being caught smuggling drugs.
"Penalties for
possession, use, or trafficking in illegal drugs in Indonesia are
severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy
fines," or the death penalty, it says. "Indonesian prisons are harsh
and do not meet Western standards."
Paul Armstrong, Joseph Netto and Rudy Madanir contributed to this report.
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