British Death Row Drug Mule Released from Bali Prison
Lindsay Sandiford, a 69-year-old British grandmother who spent more than ten years on death row in Indonesia, was seen being wheeled out of Bali’s Kerobokan Prison as she prepared to return to the United Kingdom.
Sandiford, convicted of attempting to smuggle £1.6 million worth of cocaine into Bali, was spared the firing squad after years of appeals. She attended a brief handover ceremony at the prison before being transferred to the airport.
Officials confirmed that Sandiford, formerly a legal secretary, is in poor health and will fly home on a UK-funded flight costing approximately £600. She is expected to reach London Heathrow after a 20-hour journey.
“More than a decade in one of the world’s worst prisons has taken its toll on her and she wants nothing more than to get back to the UK,”
said a source familiar with her situation.
Sandiford left the prison alongside another British inmate, 35-year-old Shabab Shahabadi, who had been serving a life sentence for drug-related crimes. Indonesian officials noted that Shahabadi was also unwell. Both were escorted to Denpasar International Airport, where they were due to meet British Ambassador Dominic Jeremy before boarding their flight.
Author’s Summary
After 13 years imprisoned in Bali for drug smuggling, Lindsay Sandiford returns home to the UK, frail but free, spared from her original death sentence.