Pregnant woman in Laos jail

[princessmel]

Just seen on ITV news that she has escaped execution.

They are going to try and get her to serve her sentance in the UK.

[CurryMaid]

I hope she gets transferred back here.

What will happen to the baby if she stays there? Would it be taken into care in the UK?

[nancy75]

i know this ounds harsh but she was trying to smuggle over a pound of heroin in to australia, it seems she got pregnant in order to escape the death penalty, i really dont see why she should be given the option of serving her sentance in the uk. the laws in laos may seem over the top to us, and i would never want the death penalty brought back here, but when travelling in countries like laos, thailand, singapore ect you know that if you try to smuggle drugs this is what you face. had she been successful the drugs would have caused heartbreak for many and possibly the death of some, why should she get a cushier deal just because she is a brit?

[MANATEEequineOHARA]

I am glad that she is not going to be executed, but I do think she deserves a long sentance. I hope the baby is adopted to a lovely family, what a horrid thing it would be to know you were conceived by your drug smuggling mother to try and escape the death penalty.

[CurryMaid]

I wouldn't assume that she definitely knew that this is what she faced.

We know nothing about this woman - she could have learning difficulties/be drug dependent/incredibly naive.

I don't think I could ever say for certain that she deserves what she got because she knew what she was getting into - not unless she admitted that herself.

Also still confused about how she 'got herself pregnant' whilst in jail. How is that supposed to have happened then?

[nancy75]

i think if she had learning difficulties it would have been made public by now/used in her defence. Being drug dependant is no excuse for smuggling 1 1/2 pounds of heroin. as for her not knowing, i have flown into singapore, and thailand several times and recal that warnings are given on the plane re drug trafficing ang harsh sentances, i dont know anybody that has visited these countries and not known.
Her own mother has said that she was not raped/sexually assaulted while in prison.
sometimes people really are guilty of the crimes thay are accused of, just because she is british, pregnant or a woman does not mean she is innocent.

[CurryMaid]

From the Times:

"Survivors of Phanthong prison, where Orobator has been held since August, recently described the horrors of incarceration in the notorious jail where malnutrition, disease, abuse and torture are part of everyday life.

Kay Danes, an Australian who survived ten months in the same cell block where Ms Orobator is being held, said: ?If she goes into early labour or starts miscarrying, nobody will come however much she screams," she said.

"I?ve heard all the prisoners yelling at the top of their lungs, shouting for the guards when one of the inmates was dying, and nobody comes. Nobody ever comes.?

That's justice is it? She deserves that?

[CurryMaid]

I'm also not convinced we'd know about it if she did have learning difficulties. Reports in the papers said even nine months after her arrest she hadn't had any legal assistance.

Why would we know about her background via the media if it didn't even come out at the trial?

[FAQinglovely]

"Her own mother has said that she was not raped/sexually assaulted while in prison."

oh this the same mother than until it hit the news headlines just a few weeks ago didn't even realise it was her daughter locked up!

How else is she supposed to have got pg having been locked up since August???

[nancy75]

actually nobody deserves that, but everybody else there has to serve their sentance, just lucky she's a brit and can get sent home?
the conditions are apalling i'm sure, but then if she hadnt tried to smuggle heroin she probably would never have been held there in the first place.

[FAQinglovely]

yes but how did she get pg????

She may have told her mother (how?? - she's hardly had access to legal representation so I'm sure phone calls would be out of the question) that she hadn't been raped. But give the history of the prison she was in as far as I can see it's the only plausible way that it could have happened.

[CurryMaid]

Yes, I'm confused about how she obtained the sperm of another prisoner to do this.

So the sperm was smuggled from cell to cell in the short timeframe while it's still warm enough not to perish and then inserted with what exactly?

I thought I read (although not sure where) that the Laos authorities were putting a lot of pressure on her to state that no rape occurred.

[nancy75]

her mother is in laos atm faq,
this is the whole times article, it says that her mother says she was not raped by guard or other prisoner, maybe its a mixed sex prison?
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6420868.ece

[FAQinglovely]

"Her mother, Jane, recently denied reports that her daughter had not been raped by prison officials or fellow prisoners. "

maybe I'm reading that wrong but I read that as the opposite of what you're saying.

[nancy75]

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/5352431/Pregnant-British-woman-in-Laos-jail-was-not-rap ed.html

[FAQinglovely]

hmm yes and of course 9 months in a jail of that notoriety isn't scare the shit out of you to make sure you don't tell the truth is it .

[nancy75]

on the other hand if she knew that by being pregnant she would not face the death penalty its not beyond the realms of imagination that she had concensual sex in the hope of becoming pregnant

[FAQinglovely]

reading some of the other articles about how she became pg they all rather to me.

[AnarchyAunt]

TBH I wouldn't rely on the woman saying she was not raped by prison staff, during a visit presumably supervised by said prison staff

Especially considering the allegations about the living conditions and treatment of prisoners in Laos jails that have been made - backed by Amnesty International

[AnarchyAunt]

And anyway, even if she did become PG through consensual sex, or deception, than I wouldn't criticise if it was the only certain way to escape execution by firing squad.

[Ivykaty44]

The deal between UK and Laos was done ver recently and very swiftly Loas even delayed the court case until the deal was settled and signed I wonder why? Very handing having a pg prisoner they want to swap now

[SomeGuy]

We have a joint agreement with Laos; we return their crims, and them ours. No special treatment. Hope the baby goes to the woman's Mum or another family member.

That's not true at all.

We had no such agreement, but the usual 'omg aren't these foreigners savage' bleating came out the minute a Briton was arrested, and purely as a result of the publicity in this case, an agreement was signed a couple of weeks ago.

So yes, very special treatment.

[fishie]

yes exactly someguy. she will be transferred back here to serve a (likely smallish) sentence in same situation as any pg woman who is convicted of crime.

laos doesn't lose face and she doesn't have to be in prison there. result.

[nancy75]

result for her, but a message to any british tourist that they are above the law of other countries, go smuggle what you like, you're a brit you can do what you want.

[SomeGuy]

I don't see that it is a result. If you commit a crime in somebody else's country you should serve their punishment.

The baby should be given up for adoption (either in Laos or the UK) and she should stay there for life or whatever their normal sentence is.

There's still a colonial hangover with Western countries that our citizens are somehow above the laws of Asian countries and should be given special treatment.