Laos: Innocent British woman facing firing squad

[jesuitsdidit]

A pregnant British woman is facing death by firing squad for smuggling heroin in what is described as a "hasty show trial" in Laos.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/5256953/Pregnant-British-woman-Samantha-Orobator-facing-death-by-firing-squad-in-Laos.html


Pregnant British woman Samantha Orobator facing death by firing squad in Laos
A pregnant British woman, Samantha Orobator, is facing death by firing squad for smuggling heroin in what campaigners describe as a "hasty show trial" in Laos.


By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:16PM BST 01 May 2009


http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/5630/samanthaorobator1395105.th.jpg (http://img7.imageshack.us/my.php?image=samanthaorobator1395105.jpg)
Samantha Orobator: Pregnant British woman facing death by firing squad in Laos
Samantha Orobator became pregnant in unknown circumstances in December Photo: PA

Miss Orobator, 20, from London was arrested last August at Wattay airport in the south east Asian country.

Prosecutors claim she had 680 grams (1.3lb or 21 oz) of heroin in her luggage.

According to the legal campaign group Reprieve she has not met a lawyer since she was arrested 9 months ago but it is believed that she denies the drugs were hers.

Under Lao law the death penalty is mandatory for possession of over 500 grams of heroin. At least 39 people have been sentenced to death for a variety of offences since 2003.

On Thursday, without warning or explanation, the government of Laos rescheduled Miss Orobator's trial for next week, but they have still not announced which day the case will begin.

A statement by Reprieve said: "By scheduling her trial for next week, the Laos court has made it impossible for any lawyer to prepare an adequate defence... Samatha's life now hangs in the balance." The fast tracking of the trial came as the Lao authorities knew that a lawyer from Reprieve was preparing to meet Miss Orobator for the first time.

"Laos appears to be acting in a way that frustrates Samantha's right to appropriate legal assistance," Reprieve concluded.

Miss Orobator became pregnant in unknown circumstances in December, four months after she was arrested. "It is not possible to confirm whether she was raped," Reprieve said.

"The prison where she is being held in Phonthong is meant to be all female, but this is apparently not the case."

Reports of the notoriously abusive Phonthong prison describe "highly unsanitary" conditions, inadequate rations and severe punishments for supposed breaches of discipline.

Reprieve said: "Samantha is severely distressed, and Reprieve has grave concerns for her health and that of her unborn child." Another British prisoner, Michael Newman, died after being reportedly refused medical attention at the same prison last year.

Miss Orobator had been on holiday in Holland, Thailand and Laos for around a month when she was arrested as she began her journey home.

Her friends in London, interviewed by Reprieve researchers preparing her defence, say she had never been involved with drugs.

One of her former teachers said, "She was very popular. I remember she had a bizarre sense of humour. She was very bright... she always got As and Bs." There is no British embassy in Laos, a communist dictatorship of 6 million people. British diplomats in next door Thailand only learnt of her detention months after she was arrested. Since then she has been allowed to meet a consular official for only 20 minutes every month, always with a guard present.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Bangkok said: "We have been actively engaging with the Lao authorities at a senior level."

In a press conference at Westminster on Friday the human rights lawyer and founder of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith, called on Miss Orobator's MP, Harriet Harman, to intervene on her behalf. The foreign minister of Laos is visiting Britain on 7 May.

[jesuitsdidit]

REPRIEVE

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/

[jesuitsdidit]

she doesnt look like a criminal or liar to me..?

[jesuitsdidit]

i dont know how 2 copy big pictures
imageshack always makes em small
its much bigger in telegraph article..

[verusdeus]

she doesnt look like a criminal or liar to me..?

What does a criminal or liar look like?:confused:

Aint it funny how all the Brit drug runners are innocent!

[jesuitsdidit]

Lao Embassy in United Kingdom

Add: Victoria Road 12-14, London W8-5rd, UK
Tel: 93 71 912
Fax: 93 76 108
Code: 00-44-171

[jesuitsdidit]

Aint it funny how all the Brit drug runners are innocent!

some r innocent
some r guilty

she looks innocent..

[jesuitsdidit]

cant find UK Laos embassy w/s

heres USA details

pls email to register your disapproval

Email Address:

laoembas@gmail.com

Embassy Address:

2222 S St. NW, Washington, DC 20008

http://www.laoembassy.com/

[jesuitsdidit]

i see REPRIEVE havnt got anything up on her yet
but email US embassy
will post sample letter shortly..

[tribe_of_david]

are you saying the email address for the laos embassy is a gmail address ? this has got to be a joke right.

this poor girl has been raped whilst in custoday and will be executed ..... something has got to be done. we need to kick up some kind of fuss. does anyone know the prison in which she is being held/raped/tortured ?

[jesuitsdidit]

the email i sent to Laotian Ambassador to USA, u r welcome to copy and use it..



subject - British woman, Samantha Orobator

Attn HE The Laotian Ambassador to the U.S.A.

Sir,
I am a British national, writing to express my deep concern in the case of British woman, Samantha Orobator.

I do not have a wealth of facts except news reports and the Daily Telegraph article (see below).
However, I am quite good at telling whether someone is guilty or innocent, and I believe this person is innocent.

I would be interested to hear your response to the points raised in the 'Telegraph' article especially why the trial has been suddenly scheduled, at short notice, to start next week, before she's had a chance to meet her lawyers.

I would have thought this contravenes The Normal Principles of the Due Process of Law.
If I thought she was guilty, I would not be writing to you but in this case, I feel certain she is innocent.

I would ask you to pass on my message to your Government in Vientiane.

Yours faithfully,

name.

link to article-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/5256953/Pregnant-British-woman-Samantha-Orobator-facing-death-by-firing-squad-in-Laos.html

[jesuitsdidit]

are you saying the email address for the laos embassy is a gmail address ? this has got to be a joke right.

this poor girl has been raped whilst in custoday and will be executed ..... something has got to be done. we need to kick up some kind of fuss. does anyone know the prison in which she is being held/raped/tortured ?

are you saying the email address for the laos embassy is a gmail address ?

yes

we need to kick up some kind of fuss.

yes


i am working on it, stay tuned..

[void]

Unfortunate story, but nobody knows if she's innocent or guilty other than Samantha. We certainly can't go by looks, to determine anything. Westerners languish in jails all over South East Asia for drug smuggling. Plenty of men, who hardly ever reach our news I'd add. Laos is rife with Opium. I remember people (including westerners) smoking in Opium dens there all over the place, and it's not unusual for folks to have considered smuggling gear back and forward between SEA and Europe, who end up caught at borders or airports. Netherlands, Thailand, Laos, Netherlands. Hmmm. By all means, pressure the government for better conditions and not to go ahead with capital punishment (mind you, it may be preferable rather than decades locked up in a jail in Vientiane). But I'm not so sure we should assume she's innocent. My guess is that they won't go ahead with the death sentence, in her case.

Neighouring Thailand, always worried how their decisions will affect the Tourism they rely on so much is affected by such high profile things means the King nearly always pardons western prisoners sentenced to death. 20 years ago, they happily machine gun executed Thai and Falang, both. Not anymore. Laos isn't as bothered, but they still rely on Tourism too and know that a young British woman being executed won't go down well at all, and would effect things.

Btw, a gmail address for an embassy isn't unusual in that part of the world. Sending emails to embassys is 99% a waste of time though, unless you are prepared to wait months (or eternity) for a reply (often a reply never comes).

[jesuitsdidit]

Bouasone Bouphavanh
Prime Minister
Prime Minister's Office
Rue Sisavat
Vientiane
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Fax: + 856 21 213560
Salutation: Dear Prime Minister

Chaleuan Yapaoher
Minister of Justice
Ministry of Justice
Rue Phone Xay
Vientiane
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Fax: + 856 21 414009

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?lang=e&id=ENGASA260082007

[jesuitsdidit]

English Newspapers in Laos

Vientiane Newspapers Vientiane Times (English)


Vientiane Times Pangkham Rd, P.O.Box: 5723 Vientiane, Lao PDR
Tel: (856-21) 216364, 251619; Fax: (856-21) 216365;
Email: info@vientianetimes.org.la

http://www.vientianetimes.org.la/

[jesuitsdidit]

email just sent to Vientiane Times



subject - British woman, Samantha Orobator

Attn Vientiane Times

Sir,

I am a British national, writing to express my deep concern in the case of British woman, Samantha Orobator.

I do not have a wealth of facts except news reports and the Daily Telegraph article (see below).
However, I am quite good at telling whether someone is guilty or innocent, and I believe this person is innocent.

I would be interested to hear your response to the points raised in the 'Telegraph' article especially why the trial has been suddenly scheduled, at short notice, to start next week, before she's had a chance to meet her lawyers.

I would have thought this contravenes The Normal Principles of the Due Process of Law.
If I thought she was guilty, I would not be writing to you but in this case, I feel certain she is innocent.

I am a member of a UK internet forum and will not expressly suggest they all contact you as your system would probably be swamped by hundreds of emails but will provide the link to the thread I have started called
Laos: Innocent British woman facing firing squad link -

http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?p=964670&posted=1#post964670

I would be very grateful if you could print this letter and raise as much awareness as possible in your country to save this innocent woman.

With thanks,

Yours faithfully,

name.

link to article-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/5256953/Pregnant-British-woman-Samantha-Orobator-facing-death-by-firing-squad-in-Laos.html

[jesuitsdidit]

amnesty havnt taken it up yet either

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

suggest u email yr MP

welcome 2 use my letter

will print more when news j

[jesuitsdidit]

and yr MEP..

[jesuitsdidit]

LAOS

chief of state: President Lt. Gen. CHOUMMALI Saignason (since 8 June 2006); Vice President BOUN-GNANG Volachit (since 8 June 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister BOUASONE Bouphavanh (since 8 June 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Maj. Gen. ASANG Laoli (since May 2002), Maj. Gen. DOUANGCHAI Phichit (since 8 June 2006), SOMSAVAT Lengsavat (since 26 February 1998), and THONGLOUN Sisoulit (since 27 March 2001).

[jesuitsdidit]

History:

Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1986. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.

[jesuitsdidit]

Harriet Harman is her MP.

[enga]

Apparently UK don't have an embassy to Laos and we are governed by the French Laos embassy. I used a translation service to send them an email. You can use it if you wish:


Monsieur/Madame,

Laissez-moi vous excuser pour mon Français - j'ai utilisé un service de la traduction comme il n'était pas mon autochtone que language.I vous écrit de la part de l'Angleterre parce que nous n'avons aucune ambassade au Laos ici. J'écris parce que je suis soucieux d'une dame qui est tenue au Laos sur les charges de la drogue, il, qu'elle est faisant face à une condamnation à mort et a pu être cognée pendant que dans la garde. Je ne sais pas si elle est coupable de passer l'héroïne en fraude mais ne sens pas que que l'amende est trop dure et depuis qu'elle était enceinte ils ont façon dont elle était tenu n'est pas éthique.

S'il vous plaît intercéder-vous sur sa faveur et vous aider-vous d'une quelconque manière peut. Un article concernant la dame est dans la liaison ci-dessous:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/laos/5256953/Pregnant-British-woman-Samantha-Orobator-facing-death-by-firing-squad-in-Laos.html

Merci


Email to
ambalaoparis@wanadoo.fr

[void]

At first I wasn't sure that linking back to this forum in that letter, was a good idea.

But................

Lizards – add them to your menu now. In the months of March and April
youngsters enjoy hunting for striped lizards (chee pom) to eat or sell in markets.

On the front page (bottom right) of the vientiane times website :o

I used a translation service to send them an email.

Was that wise? Online translations frequrntly translate into garble or even insults. :eek:

[enga]

hehe long as it doesn't start ww3 we're right:)

[oceanwave]

i dont know how 2 copy big pictures
imageshack always makes em small
its much bigger in telegraph article..

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/5630/samanthaorobator1395105.jpg




if you have firefox browser, install this extension http://reg.imageshack.us/content.php?page=extension

[ap12345]

I'm sorry but to me it doesn't appear she is innocent, for one she isn't denying she was carrying the drugs only that she was "forced to carry the drugs by a third party." She also visited Amsterdam before going to south east asia which just happens to be the drug capital of europe.

Her friends aren't denying she did the crime either one says "the punishment doesn't fit the crime."

I don't agree with the death penalty but at the end of the day she knew the punishment for drug smuggling before she carried the drugs.

I think this was a case of someone giving in to the temptation of easy fast money for little work, unfortunately this tragedy is the end result. I am sure lots more people get away with it than get caught, she is just one of the unlucky ones.

You also have to remember that drugs ruin lives and although this punishment seems disproportional she obviously made little though of the lives which would be ruined by her part in this terrible trade only thinking of the money she would make.

I feel sorry for the child :(

[jesuitsdidit]

I'm sorry but to me it doesn't appear she is innocent, for one she isn't denying she was carrying the drugs only that she was "forced to carry the drugs by a third party." She also visited Amsterdam before going to south east asia which just happens to be the drug capital of europe.

Her friends aren't denying she did the crime either one says "the punishment doesn't fit the crime."

I don't agree with the death penalty but at the end of the day she knew the punishment for drug smuggling before she carried the drugs.

I think this was a case of someone giving in to the temptation of easy fast money for little work, unfortunately this tragedy is the end result. I am sure lots more people get away with it than get caught, she is just one of the unlucky ones.

You also have to remember that drugs ruin lives and although this punishment seems disproportional she obviously made little though of the lives which would be ruined by her part in this terrible trade only thinking of the money she would make.

I feel sorry for the child :(

well, i agree on that basis maybe she is guilty
shame bcoz she looks like a nice girl..

[jesuitsdidit]

well, i agree on that basis maybe she is guilty
shame bcoz she looks like a nice girl..

perhaps she was desperate 4 the money??

[jesuitsdidit]

perhaps she was desperate 4 the money??

that doesnt justify breaking the law
but its sad she shd be driven to that
clearly in need of help..

[kingmonkey]

Guilty or innocent, shooting a pregnant woman is just wrong.

[jesuitsdidit]

ps i cant stop u writing to whoever u want
use yr own judgement
i was just trying to avoid crashing the V Times system
but maybe it wdnt..

[skyfish]

well, i agree on that basis maybe she is guilty
shame bcoz she looks like a nice girl..

Yeah if she was a big fat heffer with goofy teeth not only would people not give a shit but it probably wouldn't have made the papers to begin with.
*sigh *sigh *double sigh :rolleyes:

[jesuitsdidit]

Yeah if she was a big fat heffer with goofy teeth not only would people not give a shit but it probably wouldn't have made the papers to begin with.
*sigh *sigh *double sigh :rolleyes:

i dont judge people by the beauty of their face but their heart..

[jesuitsdidit]

with the Laotian FM visiting UK on May 7
maybe that wd b a gd time to raise awareness
if u feel inclined

the question is
will they try to do nething b4 that??

[jesuitsdidit]

course we know who really runs the drug trade
girls like this r useful 2 perpetuate the myth
that its ppl like her who r the real players
half a kilo

Air CIA brings in tons of the stuff
and not one speck moves
without them knowing about it..

[pandamania]

Guilty or innocent, shooting a pregnant woman is just wrong.

Sick really. Murdering an innocent child.

[enga]

She got a reprieve because she is pregnant, was on the news.

[sweethoney]

She got a reprieve because she is pregnant, was on the news.

How "lucky" for her that she fell pregnant!

[decim]

maybe the nigerian government stepped in on her behalf.

[ap12345]

Sick really. Murdering an innocent child.

Tell that to all of the abortion clinics up and down the country...

[decim]

Tell that to all of the abortion clinics up and down the country...

That is women making choices, have you not read the liberal marxist manual?

100,000 British that never get to draw breath each year.

You'll notice that all the pro abortionists are Pro now they've been born.

The EU thanasia lobby are at it now, kill'em in the womb, put'em in their tomb!

[ceti]

That is women making choices, have you not read the liberal marxist manual?

100,000 British that never get to draw breath each year.

You'll notice that all the pro abortionists are Pro now they've been born.

The EU thanasia lobby are at it now, kill'em in the womb, put'em in their tomb!


what?

[lhaull]

I'm in Thailand right now, Loas is just next door.
They are serious on crime over here, well, some crimes that is.
Drugs is a big one, and I feel for anyone arrested for indulging for personal use. Their bodies, their choice.
Be it that you agree with freedom to take drugs or not, everyone should have competant legal defense, access to lawyers, and a fair trial.
Problem with Asia in general is that the legal systems and those operating within them are often corrupt.
As for the Embassy email being a gmail account, very possible indeed.
It happens a lot here, save on the cost of running a website.
Crazy, but true.

[bobbydiva]

Samantha, originally from south London, was spared a death sentence by firing squad after becoming pregnant while in prison, reportedly by fellow British prisoner John Watson through artificial insemination using a syringe.

[kanz]

some r innocent
some r guilty

she looks innocent..

Most drug mules will be the "innocent" looking type , you wouldnt ask a guy with a face like a road map to try and smuggle the stuff would ya ?

[kanz]

That is women making choices, have you not read the liberal marxist manual?

100,000 British that never get to draw breath each year.

You'll notice that all the pro abortionists are Pro now they've been born.

The EU thanasia lobby are at it now, kill'em in the womb, put'em in their tomb!

Women makeing choices , while the guy sits there and takes it .

Bit off topic but if I was in that situation and my girl friend just went ahead with it that would be war in my book . Not much worse you can do to a guy than kill his kid.

[danielr]

Samantha, originally from south London, was spared a death sentence by firing squad after becoming pregnant while in prison, reportedly by fellow British prisoner John Watson through artificial insemination using a syringe.

Is that true? Oh my! Who's behind the artificial insemination and what is it for? For her to be given the chance to be free from the penalty because of the baby? Well, I think the decision would still be based from the written law of the Country or for some special cases, she could still be punished without harming the baby since that baby is absolutely innocent with what that woman done against the law. That would be a hard decision that should be made by the government and the authority should come with a wise decision with the matter.

Death penalty is unacceptable for most individuals but there are some who push it into law due to the fact that what they think is that it is the only way to reduce crimes that just get worse as time pass by. This group of individuals includes Florida Rep. Brad Drake who wants the state's system of capital punishment to ramp it up from lethal cocktail, notes the Associated Press. A Florida bill would bring back death by firing squad (http://www.newsytype.com/12728-florida-death-by-firing-squad/) because of him. He has introduced Florida HB 325, a law that might bring firing squads or the electric chair to death row. The choice - firing squad or electric chair - will be in the hands of each Florida death row inmate.

[jukerdoo]

she doesnt look like a criminal or liar to me..?

Yeah cause thats how it works in our courts. You look like a crim you are going down!

You are a clown, she is probably guilty as sin, and deserves everything she gets, its not like the SEA countries keep their laws secret.

Still people think they can get through, yeah you might, but you might also end up facing the firing squad.

Why her? Out of all the tourists, why did the decide to do her? Cause she had half a kilo of smack in her bag. Good enough for her, thats a lot of shit to fuck people up with!!!!

[nirvana]

What a backward country it must be to kill an unborn child:mad:

[jukerdoo]

What a backward country it must be to kill an unborn child:mad:

After re reading and realising this was an old thread, it seems she got off because she was preggers.

[bigscotsman]

amnesty havnt taken it up yet either

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/

suggest u email yr MP

welcome 2 use my letter

will print more when news j

amnesty are a joke, they are only interested in left wing prisoners and good pr cases

[furry_boots]

if you fly with the crows, you get shot!
oh & dont holiday in these freaking backward 3rd world countrys

[spolier]

Laos.


Prosecutors claim she had 680 grams (1.3lb or 21 oz) of heroin in her luggage.

According to the legal campaign group Reprieve she has not met a lawyer since she was arrested 9 months ago but it is believed that she denies the drugs were hers.Under Lao law the death penalty is mandatory for possession of over 500 grams of heroin. At least 39 people have been sentenced to death for a variety of offences since 2003.

Miss Orobator became pregnant in unknown circumstances in December, four months after she was arrested. "It is not possible to confirm whether she was raped," Reprieve said.

Miss Orobator had been on holiday in Holland, Thailand and Laos for around a month when she was arrested as she began her journey home.

Her friends in London, interviewed by Reprieve researchers preparing her defence, say she had never been involved with drugs..

.

A couple of points/discrepancies,

1. not many people carrying drug limits over the death penalty amount admit to it, because....suprise suprise.... you get the deat penalty.

2. to 'get' pregnant is usually a tactic as some asian countries dont give the death sentence if the smuggler is pregnant, not sure of the law in Laos regarding this, but its more likely she has offered herself up for impregnation than being raped. the Laotians are one of the most practiced Bhuddists in the region so someone raping her just dosant fit the bill.

3. not that old red herring/old chestnut of never having done drugs before, the amount of people i used to meet in south east asia who said this as they were snorting coke/ smoking weed/ shooting heroin is just a joke.

[hadabusa]

is she deaded?

[spolier]

She got a reprieve because she is pregnant, was on the news.

Bingo, there you go, most asian countries that is the law, which expalins my reasoning before i came to your post.

never raped, as i summised in my earlier post.

[spolier]

Sick really. Murdering an innocent child.

a few weeks old feteus is hardly a child is it? its a feteus otherwise it would be called a child.

[skyver]

Even if she is guilty, the way we deal with drugs cases is disgusting. Especially when its the govt's who are on top of the food chain when it comes to drugs.

[greatdayforfreedom]

some r innocent
some r guilty

she looks innocent..

You're very clever if you can declare someone's innocence by one photo.

[spiraltrance]

Pretty simple really if you don't want face the firing squad or put your life at risk don't take up drug smuggling in the far east.

The have the death penalty in these countries for drug smuggling for a very good reason, to make people think twice about doing it. If you got off with a slap on the wrist everybody would be going out buying a few kilos for a few thousand to smuggle back to Europe to sell it for a few hundred thousand.

She probably did it while she was pregnant thinking customs wouldn't think a mother to be would have thousands of pounds of heroin on her. Same reason some people dress up as nuns or monks when bringing coke back from south america.

An argument could be made that she is worse than the regime who would put her in front of the firing squad because she smuggled the drugs knowing full well she was putting the fetus in her at risk.

[guivre]

She probably did it while she was pregnant thinking customs wouldn't think a mother to be would have thousands of pounds of heroin on her. Same reason some people dress up as nuns or monks when bringing coke back from south america.



If you read the article you will see that she wasn't pregnant when she was arrested. But this is all necro'd anyway.

[spiraltrance]

If you read the article you will see that she wasn't pregnant when she was arrested. But this is all necro'd anyway.

How did she manage to get pregnant after being arrested and imprisioned for drug trafficking?

[psystorm]

"Once the verdict had been secured, after a significant delay on the part of the Lao government, a "Memorandum of Understanding" was signed between the Lao and UK governments, allowing Samantha to transfer back to the UK. Samantha was flown home on August 7th2009, allowing her to give birth to her baby in safety."

http://www.reprieve.org.uk/cases/samanthaorobator/

She is safe at home with a baby.

[dmt head]

if you fly with the crows, you get shot!
oh & dont holiday in these freaking backward 3rd world countrys

Speaking from experience? Swear this country (uk) the people seem backward compared to some "backward" third world countrys, you ever been in a third world country?