Indonesia is set to sign an agreement on Tuesday to repatriate two British nationals currently on death row for drug-related crimes, according to a senior government source who spoke to AFP.
The agreement, described as a “practical arrangement”, will pave the way for the immediate transfer of Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother convicted of drug trafficking, and Shahab Shahabadi, aged 35, once the technical procedures are finalized.
Sandiford, who is listed as either 68 or 69 years old, was sentenced to death in 2013 after being found guilty of smuggling $2.14 million worth of cocaine into Bali from Thailand the previous year. Customs officials discovered the drugs concealed in a false compartment of her suitcase.
Shahabadi was arrested in 2014 on separate drug charges, according to the same source.
A joint press conference by the Indonesian Ministry of Legal, Human Rights, Immigration and Correction and the British Ambassador to Indonesia was scheduled for later Tuesday to announce the release of the two British nationals. The British Embassy in Jakarta declined to comment, referring all inquiries to Indonesian authorities.
Sandiford has previously admitted to the offences but claimed she was coerced into carrying the drugs after being threatened by a trafficking syndicate that promised to harm her son. Her case gained significant media attention in the UK, where tabloids published her personal reflections on facing execution.
In a 2015 article for the Mail on Sunday, Sandiford wrote about preparing for death:
“My execution is imminent, and I know I might die at any time now. I could be taken tomorrow from my cell. I have started to write goodbye letters to members of my family.”
Originally from Redcar, northeast England, she even described planning to sing Perry Como’s “Magic Moments” as she faced the firing squad.
Indonesia is known for having some of the toughest drug laws in the world, with more than 90 foreign nationals currently on death row, all for narcotics-related crimes. The country last carried out executions in 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerian convicts were executed by firing squad.
President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has recently intensified efforts to repatriate long-serving foreign inmates sentenced for drug offences. Earlier this year, French national Serge Atlaoui, 61, was sent home after 18 years on death row, while Filipina Mary Jane Veloso was reunited with her family in December after nearly 15 years behind bars.
Although Indonesia has not executed anyone in nearly a decade, government officials have recently signaled a possible resumption of executions, renewing global attention on the country’s strict anti-drug policies.
