Pregnant U.K. Woman Faces Death by Firing Squad in Heroin Trafficking Case
BANGKOK — The Laotian government on Monday insisted the trial of a pregnant British woman who faces possible death by firing squad for allegedly trafficking heroin will be conducted fairly.
That promise came despite the fact that Samantha Orobator, 20, has not been assigned a defense lawyer, raising concerns as to whether she will be able to properly defend herself, a human rights group said Monday.
Orobator has been in jail in the communist-ruled country since August, when she was accused of trying to smuggle 1.5 pounds of heroin in her luggage. Those caught with more than the statutory limit of 1.1 pounds face a mandatory death penalty.
"The trial is expected to be held this week but I don't know the exact dates," Laotian government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing said, adding it was up to the judge. "The trial will be carried out fairly."
Khenthong refused to comment on the charges against Orobator, her medical condition nor allegations that she was abused while in prison.
Anna Morris, a lawyer with the British-based human rights group Reprieve, said she was concerned that trial would not meet the judicial standards of most countries.
"She hasn't been appointed a lawyer yet and that has been our concern," Morris said. "We are concerned that any hearing may be quite quick in comparison to what will happen in other countries."
Morris, who arrived Sunday in Vientiane, the country's capital, said she had been granted permission to meet with Orobator on Tuesday. The lawyer said Orobator had earlier been told the trial could start Monday, but it was now unclear when the trial would begin.
Morris also said the group was worried about the detainee's health.
"We are concerned about the effect of the uncertainty on Sam's well-being ... given her age, her vulnerability, her pregnancy," Morris said. "We just seek clarity from the Lao government as soon as possible as to what exactly is going to happen so that we can advise her properly."
From her home in Dublin, Orobator's mother Jane Orobator told The Associated Press that she just wanted her daughter home.
"I'm terrified. I'm scared," she said in a telephone interview. "I'm just begging they should not do anything to her. They should just send her back to me."
A Reprieve statement said Orobator was five months pregnant, but because she had no access to counsel they could not confirm whether she was raped in the prison.
The circumstances of her pregnancy remain unclear and the group's statement could not be independently verified.
She had been in jail for months before Britain's government learned of the detention. British diplomats and doctors have since visited her, according to the British Foreign Office.
Laos is a one-party state and rights groups say the judicial system is beholden to the communist regime that has ruled since 1975.
The country lies in the opium-producing Golden Triangle bordering Myanmar and Laos. Although production of the narcotic has in the region fallen in recent years, it is still a major source of illicit drugs.
After the baby is delivered, it should be raised by the Laotian government to be a super secret spy/assassin, who, at around the age of 26, becomes aware of his/her origins and goes on a rampage of intrigue and subterfuge to take down the evil communist regime choking the liberty of the Laotian people.
jay_a2j wrote:hey if any1 would like me to make them a signature or like an avator just let me no, my sig below i did, and i also did "panther 88" so i can do something like that for u if ud like...
Why would you carry more than 1.1 Pounds???? Couldn't you leave the .4 pounds at home?
Also:
pimpdave wrote:After the baby is delivered, it should be raised by the Laotian government to be a super secret spy/assassin, who, at around the age of 26, becomes aware of his/her origins and goes on a rampage of intrigue and subterfuge to take down the evil communist regime choking the liberty of the Laotian people.
This needs to be qouted a lot in this thread. It's goddamn brilliant.
Starring Daniel Craig, or something. Although Steven Segal is the greatest actor of all time and is probably available for the role. Plus I think he's much cheaper.
jay_a2j wrote:hey if any1 would like me to make them a signature or like an avator just let me no, my sig below i did, and i also did "panther 88" so i can do something like that for u if ud like...
Juan_Bottom wrote:Also... it's a shame... anything under 1.1 pounds and you get the "voluntary death penalty." I don't know what it is, but it sounds all right.
Isn't that #1 on the list of benefits when a person joins the democrat/republican party?
I'm tempted to argue about how caring about something not even born yet more than a person is kind of outrageous...but it's interesting enough a philosophical question that I'm letting it slide.
HapSmo19 wrote:OK. So what kind of person are we talking about here.....
I dont feel sorry for her.
A person person. You should.
Right. If she was smuggling drugs to finance an underground war against the NWO or to feed the homeless of the UK for a year then she has my sympathies but my instinct tells me it was the Cadillac Escalade with the gold spinner-rims.
Luckily you and I have never been in such a desperate position where we've found ourselves smuggling heroin into South-East Asia - I feel sorry for her, in a way, but everyone knows the penalties for smuggling drugs to that region of the world, so they know (or should know) the risk.
HapSmo19 wrote:OK. So what kind of person are we talking about here.....
I dont feel sorry for her.
A person person. You should.
Right. If she was smuggling drugs to finance an underground war against the NWO or to feed the homeless of the UK for a year then she has my sympathies but my instinct tells me it was the Cadillac Escalade with the gold spinner-rims.
