This British girl on drugs charge in Laos...

[Ponders]

She's been in prison since August but she is 5 months pregnant???

A bit more information would be helpful

"her mother was quoted as saying she had a history of miscarriage"

She's only 20! And her mother hardly knows her according to earlier posts?

Nope never been to a country like Laos, if I did I would do my best to find out what sort of laws they had and do my best to be lawabiding, in the same way I didn't drink alcohol when I went to USA before my 21st birthday

I wouldn't attempt to break any law and if I did, I would expect to be treated in the same way as residents of that country. TBH I wouldn't go to a country where I had no rights

20 is plenty old enough for a history of miscarriage

I think it's all well and good that most of us would think carefully about where we go and what actions we take. Bully for us! But this isn't about us is it........it's about a young woman who made the wrong decision and has somehow become pregnant while incarcerated and faces a possible death sentence. If it was your relative would you still be saying that they should be dealt with as the country sees fit?

Tbh though, I don't know why her lawyer is bothering to point out that she's had inadequate antenatal care when the crime she will almost certainly be charged with faces a mandatory death sentence.

"They haven't said that in so many words soupy."

They haven't said it at all that I can see so comments about turning the baby into a colander/murdering it are rather misplaced.

I am against the death penalty. However, if that is the penalty for the crime she is accused of committing in Laos then that is the penalty.

The lack of legal representation is appalling, the conditions are appalling, the fact that she has become pregnant in prison is appalling and those things are to be campaigned against. However, smuggling heroin is appalling. I have no idea what quantity 650g is but I'm guessing it's a fair amount.

No, we don't know whether she is guilty but equally we don't know that she isn't.

I say almost certainly because it sounds as if the authorities have done their best to prevent her access to legal representation which imho doesn't bode well.

I am jumping in here and sorry if point has been mused I have scan read through:

What IF this poor girl knows the seriousness of her situation (innocent or guilty) and thought a pregnancy would help her as a measure of desperation - I know this isn't nice but possible?

Regardless of how she got pregnant, the fact is that it shouldn't be happening in a Prison.

Many, many young people often travel to these countries because you can get by on very little money. Many of the kids are gap year students, so still very young and naive.

Even if she is guilty, tourists don't have any idea of what being in prison/dealing with corruption is like. Not even more mature travelers are aware of these things.

Again, if she is guilty,she might not have thought about the death penalty as drug related sentences in UK are nowhere near as harsh.

Aboslutely disgusted by your attitude Aphrodite. You need to read this book and revisit your basic humanity.

People make mistakes, and bad decisions. Often, when drugs are involved, it's due to poverty and economic pressures you couldn't even imagine.

Smuggling drugs, no matter what the level of involvement should not be an offence punishable by (possible) rape and execution.

But many counties in Asia (Singapore for example) has signs as soon as you reach customs. They are very blunt and say to the effect of "caught with drugs and you face the death penalty". It blummin scared me and all I had on me was nurofen and calpol. There are plenty of toilets where drugs can be disposed of.

Daily Telegraph report

"The prison where she is being held in Phonthong is meant to be all female, but this is apparently not the case."

"Another British prisoner, Michael Newman, died after being reportedly refused medical attention at the same prison last year."

We need more information

Do you know if there are signs posted at land borders though. I've seen signs in airports but an airport isn't a land border.

I've been on osme planes where they make an announcement not to bring any drugs. I can't imagine a bus driver would make the same announcements though. Many of the ones I've encountered can't speak English.

That I don't know iwanttolearn. Good point though.

hmm, Porter, interesting.

So can we now consider the possibility that not only has she knowingly attempted to smuggle drugs into the UK, but that she also got pregnant either intentionally or accidentally whilst in prison? If that is the case she obviously has flagrant disregard for the new life she carries inside her, that could potentially die with her.

Sounds like a lovely piece of work.

I meant Ponders not Porter. oops

We absolutely need more info and I hope the relevant UK authorities will do all they can to understand the situation and help her.

There is rarely smoke without fire but whatever she has done she does not deserve the death penalty, nevermind the fact that she is pg.

I'm not suggesting there should be no consequences if she is guilty of a crime but I hope she gets appropriate support and help.

Whatever she has or hasn't done she doesn't deserve a firing squad.

I hope that if she is found guilty she can be sent back to the UK & dealt with more appropriately here.

Does anyone know how long her sentence would be in the UK for 680g? I doubt much longer than a few years, definitely not a firing squad.

I remember this happened to a young girl in Thailand in the early 1990s. She got the minimum sentence, which was 25 years. She was transferred to the UK after serving the madatory amount of time in the Thai prison. She was later freed via the King's pardon.

Surely, though, extradition back to the UK would open up a whole can of worms. What about all the foreign nationals in the UK serving sentences for drug smuggling here?
To make it "fair" surely we then have to extradite them back to their own countries to face the atrocities of their jails there? How humane is that? One life for maybe hundreds?
The UK cannot be seen to override the laws of another country, no matter how "unjust" their systems appear.
What makes our citizens the exception to the rule? How less "guilty" is this one woman than all the others incarcerated in the same prison? By mere accident of birth she is to some degree exonerated, whilst the poor "locals" who have nowhere to be rescued to and are accused of similar crimes get to suffer. Don't hear you weeping over them.
And don't get me started on our money paying for another inmate....

Good point, Shite. I'm still wondering though how long her sentence would have been if she had been in the UK, not necessarily saying that she should be transferred.

I am also wondering what will happen to her baby. Even if the mother is guilty, why should the baby have to die too?

Of course extradition isn't the answer, it's not the point here.

The point is that the country where she was arrested made no effort to contact her home country or family, that she has somehow fallen pregnant while in prison, that she has been denied access to legal representation, that she is receiving no ante-natal care, and that she faces the death penalty. These things contavene basic human rights, whether she is guilty or not.

And yes of course people are aware that the populations of these countries face the same penalties, that there are terrible unfair legal systems all around the world and that the difference between being born in the UK and a corrupt regime where people have no rights etc is an accident of birth. That is why people support amnesty etc.

Of course she doesn't deserve a death sentence, I don't think anyone does. But really is there anyone who doesn't KNOW that many countries impose a death sentence for drug smuggling?

The world is not one big Centerparc, it is a dangerous place full of people who simply DON'T. GIVE. A. DAMN. You travel at your own risk.