JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia is set to repatriate two British nationals, including Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother who has spent over a decade on death row for drug trafficking, according to government officials.
The agreement for the transfer is expected to be signed on Tuesday, with the repatriation to follow once technical arrangements are finalized. Sandiford, now 69, was sentenced to death in 2013 after customs officers discovered 2.14 million Dollars’ worth of cocaine concealed in her suitcase upon arrival in Bali from Thailand in 2012.
Also being repatriated is Shahab Shahabadi, 35, who was arrested in 2014 on drug charges and is currently serving a life sentence.
Sandiford admitted to carrying the narcotics but claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate that threatened her son’s life. Her case drew widespread attention in the UK, particularly after she penned a letter in 2015 expressing her fear of imminent execution and describing how she had begun writing farewell notes to her family.
Indonesia enforces some of the world’s strictest drug laws, with dozens of foreign nationals currently on death row. The country last carried out executions in 2016, including three Nigerian drug convicts.
Sandiford, originally from Redcar in northeast England, had formed close bonds with other inmates, including Andrew Chan, an Australian executed for his role in the “Bali Nine” heroin smuggling plot.
The repatriation is part of a broader initiative by President Prabowo Subianto’s administration to return foreign inmates to their home countries. Recent transfers include Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, who reunited with her family after 15 years on death row, and French national Serge Atlaoui, repatriated after 18 years.
Indonesian authorities have signaled a possible resumption of executions, with more than 90 foreigners currently facing death sentences for drug-related offenses. A joint press conference with Indonesian officials and the British ambassador is scheduled to announce the release.
