Pregnant Briton sentenced to life

A pregnant British woman accused of smuggling heroin has been found guilty in Laos and sentenced to life in jail.

Samantha Orobator, 20, from south London, was caught with 1.5lb (680g) of the drug at Wattay airport in the capital, Vientiane, last August.

Her trial had been delayed while Laotian officials tried to find out how she became pregnant in prison.

She would have faced a mandatory death sentence, but the execution of pregnant prisoners is not allowed in Laos.

Pregnant in prison

The UK has recently signed a prisoner transfer agreement with Laos, which means Orobator could serve any potential sentence in a British jail.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokesman said officials would soon be in touch with her to discuss what she wants to do next.

The spokesman told the BBC: "We will be discussing with Samantha if she wants to apply for a transfer. There is a prisoner transfer agreement; it will be up to her."


We really want her home by 6 June. That is the first day of her third trimester and she needs to travel before then

Reprieve
He said he was unable to say whether Orobator would be transferred back to the UK before the start of the third trimester of her pregnancy on 6 June - as has been called for by British human rights charity Reprieve.

Orobator has been held for nine months in Phongthong prison, where she reportedly became pregnant in December.

Reprieve has called for her to be returned to the UK before the final stages of her pregnancy.

A spokeswoman said before the trial: "We really want her home by 6 June. That is the first day of her third trimester and she needs to travel before then.

"Whether she is acquitted, pardoned or tried and convicted and serves her sentence in this country, she needs to be out of that prison by then."