03/06/2009

Pregnant Briton Given Life Sentence In Laos

A pregnant Briton accused of drug smuggling in Laos, has been given a life sentence.

Samantha Orobator, 20, from London, was caught with 1.5lb (680g) of heroin at Wattay airport in the capital, Vientiane, last August.

The 20-year-old's trial had been delayed while Laotian officials tried to find out how she became pregnant in prison.

Orobator has been held in the jail for nine months, however, it is understood she became pregnant in December. According to Lao officials, she may have managed to artificially inseminate herself while behind bars.

A British Embassy spokesman said the verdict on Orobator was handed down at a one-day hearing in the Lao capital.

Heroin trafficking is punishable by death, but according to Lao law, the execution of pregnant women is not allowed.

Under a recent deal struck between Foreign Secretary David Miliband and the Laos government last month, she could be extradited to serve her time in Britain.

(JM/BMcc)

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