UK woman on death row in Bali to be repatriated

Indonesia has agreed to repatriate a 69-year-old British woman who was sentenced to death for trying to smuggle drugs to Bali.

Lindsay Sandiford was sentenced to prison in 2013 for smuggling more than US$2 million ($3.1 million) worth of cocaine to the Indonesian resort island, which has some of the strictest drug-trafficking laws in the world.

Sandiford, 69, was found guilty of smuggling 4.8 kilos of drugs hidden in the lining of his suitcase on a flight from Bangkok.

Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s senior minister for legal affairs, said the two countries agreed to release Sandiford on humanitarian grounds.

“Lindsay is elderly and ill. She was on good behavior in prison, which was reason enough to meet the UK government’s request that she be sent back home and complete her sentence there,” Lindsay told Reuters.

Yusril said that another British citizen, who was sentenced to life imprisonment along with him, would also be released.

Yusril said Sandiford could probably return home within the next two weeks. Britain’s foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.