British grandmother gets death for drugs in Indonesia

A 56-year-old British grandmother was sentenced to death Tuesday for smuggling cocaine into the Indonesian island of Bali, in a shock verdict after prosecutors recommended 15 years imprisonment. Lindsay Sandiford sobbed as the court in Bali's capital Denpasar handed down the sentence, over a drugs haul worth $2.4 million found in her suitcase as she arrived on a flight from Bangkok last May. "We found Lindsay Sandiford convincingly and legally guilty for importing narcotics and sentence the defendant to death," judge Amser Simanjuntak told Denpasar district court. Indonesian police said she was at the centre of a drugs importing ring involving three other Britons and an Indian who have also been arrested. Sandiford argued that she was forced into transporting the 4.79 kilos (10.6 pounds) of cocaine in order to protect her children whose safety was at stake, and the prosecution had recommended a lenient sentence.   But the court ruled that she had not admitted her crime and had damaged Indonesia's hardline stance on drugs as well as Bali's reputation as a tourism destination. As she was led back to jail, hiding her face behind a sarong, her stunned lawyers said she would likely launch an appeal. "We object to the sentence. We never expected that our client would get the death penalty," said counsel Esra Karokaro. "We will discuss it first with her, most likely we will appeal." Sandiford, in spectacles and with her hair tied back, hung her head low, turned pale and cried as the verdict was read out, while her sister Hillary Parson who attended the trial also sobbed. The court rejected the argument that Sandiford had acted to protect her children, and said there were "no mitigating circumstances" to allow for leniency.  "Her action was against the government's effort to combat drug use in the country and she insisted that she never committed the crime," said another judge, Amser Simanjuntak. "What the defendant has done could tarnish Bali image as a tourism destination," he added. British human rights charity Reprieve said last month that Sandiford "was exploited by drug traffickers, who targeted her because of her vulnerability and her fear for the safety of her children". The British embassy in Jakarta said it was providing consular assistance and that "the UK remains strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances." Two other Britons arrested in connection with the case received light sentences last month.