Nigerian-born drug trafficker to serve sentence in UK
Discussion
I checked the search which returned nothing; apologies if it's a repost.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article67...
Shocking.
A British woman who avoided execution in Laos by conceiving a child arrived back in London today.
Samantha Orobator, 20, was caught by officials at Vientiane airport with 1.5lb of heroin concealed on her body. She evaded the standard death penalty by getting pregnant while inside the notorious Phanthong prison.
Orobator arrived at Heathrow Airport on a flight from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, just before 7am today. After an agreement between the British and Laotian Governments, she has been allowed to serve her punishment in this country.
The Nigerian-born woman from South London was met by a waiting prison van as she got off the morning flight. Wearing a white beanie and loose trousers, she laughed as she stepped on to the tarmac, along with three travel companions.
Uniformed police stood by as she was led into the van taking her to Holloway prison.
She is due to give birth in the next month to a baby she is believed to have conceived by artificial insemination with sperm donated by another British prisoner.
British officials said they remain concerned for the health of John Watson, the alleged father of the child, who remains in a Laotian jail. He was removed from Phonthong prison last week and his whereabouts remain unclear.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday that it had been given assurances that Mr Watson would also be transferred to British custody “in the very near future”.
Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said: “This is excellent news. Of course, we do not condone any crimes involving illegal drugs. We work around the world to combat the use of illegal drugs.
“I spend much of my time warning British tourists of the dangers of using drugs in countries such as Laos, which have heavy penalties for these crimes. Samantha will serve her term in a British penal establishment.
“But I saw for myself Samantha’s advanced state of pregnancy when I visited her in prison last week.
“The transfer means that Samantha will give birth in the UK, close to her relatives and under UK medical care. This is clearly the best outcome for all - not least her unborn child.”
Ahead of her return, her mother, Jane Orobator, said: “I just want her to come back to the UK, that is my first desire. One step at a time, I just want her to have her baby here.”
Clive Stafford-Smith, director of Reprieve, said she should be allowed access to independent lawyers on her return.
A spokesman for the charity Reprieve said Orobator, who travelled with a midwife and representatives from the Ministry of Justice, would be undergoing health checks when she arrived at Holloway.
She was meeting her lawyers at about 8am to discuss her case.
Orobator was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Laotian court after admitting heroin smuggling. The Foreign Office said that Britain had undertaken to "enforce that sentence" although the usual rules about parole apply. On her return the High Court will issue its judgement on the minimum sentence that she must serve before she can apply for early release."
So let me get this right; she's not British, she's gotten off the hook by getting up the duff and now WE have to pay for her to serve her sentence here? If she were a man, she would be rotting in a jail on the other side of the world (and as a drug dealer, I have no sympathy).
Why are WE being forced to pick up the tab for her incarceration, birthing costs and probably the subsequent upkeep of the child? This country REALLY needs to get its priorities in order. She's getting away with it and laughing. Something's seriously wrong.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article67...
Shocking.
A British woman who avoided execution in Laos by conceiving a child arrived back in London today.
Samantha Orobator, 20, was caught by officials at Vientiane airport with 1.5lb of heroin concealed on her body. She evaded the standard death penalty by getting pregnant while inside the notorious Phanthong prison.
Orobator arrived at Heathrow Airport on a flight from Vientiane, the capital of Laos, just before 7am today. After an agreement between the British and Laotian Governments, she has been allowed to serve her punishment in this country.
The Nigerian-born woman from South London was met by a waiting prison van as she got off the morning flight. Wearing a white beanie and loose trousers, she laughed as she stepped on to the tarmac, along with three travel companions.
Uniformed police stood by as she was led into the van taking her to Holloway prison.
She is due to give birth in the next month to a baby she is believed to have conceived by artificial insemination with sperm donated by another British prisoner.
British officials said they remain concerned for the health of John Watson, the alleged father of the child, who remains in a Laotian jail. He was removed from Phonthong prison last week and his whereabouts remain unclear.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said yesterday that it had been given assurances that Mr Watson would also be transferred to British custody “in the very near future”.
Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said: “This is excellent news. Of course, we do not condone any crimes involving illegal drugs. We work around the world to combat the use of illegal drugs.
“I spend much of my time warning British tourists of the dangers of using drugs in countries such as Laos, which have heavy penalties for these crimes. Samantha will serve her term in a British penal establishment.
“But I saw for myself Samantha’s advanced state of pregnancy when I visited her in prison last week.
“The transfer means that Samantha will give birth in the UK, close to her relatives and under UK medical care. This is clearly the best outcome for all - not least her unborn child.”
Ahead of her return, her mother, Jane Orobator, said: “I just want her to come back to the UK, that is my first desire. One step at a time, I just want her to have her baby here.”
Clive Stafford-Smith, director of Reprieve, said she should be allowed access to independent lawyers on her return.
A spokesman for the charity Reprieve said Orobator, who travelled with a midwife and representatives from the Ministry of Justice, would be undergoing health checks when she arrived at Holloway.
She was meeting her lawyers at about 8am to discuss her case.
Orobator was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Laotian court after admitting heroin smuggling. The Foreign Office said that Britain had undertaken to "enforce that sentence" although the usual rules about parole apply. On her return the High Court will issue its judgement on the minimum sentence that she must serve before she can apply for early release."
So let me get this right; she's not British, she's gotten off the hook by getting up the duff and now WE have to pay for her to serve her sentence here? If she were a man, she would be rotting in a jail on the other side of the world (and as a drug dealer, I have no sympathy).
Why are WE being forced to pick up the tab for her incarceration, birthing costs and probably the subsequent upkeep of the child? This country REALLY needs to get its priorities in order. She's getting away with it and laughing. Something's seriously wrong.
The mods, in their unfailing inconsistency, have missed it:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
Puggit said:
The mods, in their unfailing inconsistency, have missed it:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
But thanks for pointing it out.http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f...
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