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A pregnant British woman held in a Laos prison for nine months faces execution if she is convicted of drug smuggling next week. Friends of Samantha Orobator-Oghagbon, 20, believe she may have been raped while in detention and now fear for the health of her unborn baby. Ms Orobator-Oghagbon, 20, from south London, was arrested at the country's Wattay Airport on 6 August 2008 and subsequently became pregnant at the notoriously abusive women's prison. Next week she goes on trial after being accused of smuggling 680 grams of heroin, narrowly exceeding the statutory minimum for the death penalty in Laos. If found guilty, she could be sentenced to execution by firing squad. Ms Orobator-Oghagbon left home in July 2008 for a holiday and, after visiting the Netherlands and Thailand, was arrested in Laos. She has consistently claimed that she was forced into carrying drugs for a third party. The legal charity Reprieve, which is trying to help the Briton, say there is no evidence that she was anything more than a "mule". Reprieve says she has not had access to lawyers. British diplomats in only learnt of her detention months after she was arrested. Since then she has been allowed to meet a consular official for 20 minutes every month, always with a guard present. Ronke Oseni, 21, a psychology student at Kingston University, who has known Ms Orobator-Oghagbon for 11 years, said: "There is no one there to visit her, no one to talk to, she doesn't speak the language. "I'm really scared for her. I can't even imagine what she's going through. The punishment does not fit the crime. They want to shoot her but what about the baby?" Born in Nigeria in 1988, Ms Orobator-Oghagbon moved to the UK when she was eight and was raised by her aunt, Sabaina Orobator, in Camberwell, south London. Her uncle, her father figure, was killed in Nigeria, and the family were granted asylum status in the UK. Teachers remember her as a friendly and intelligent child. "She was very popular. She had a bizarre sense of humour. She was very bright," reports a former teacher from Sacred Heart School in London. "Always in the top sets. She got As and Bs." There is a lack of medical care in Laos prisons, leading to the deaths of at least two foreign nationals this decade. In May last year, British citizen Michael Newman was found dead in his prison cell. He had been ill for over a week and was refused treatment. A French national, Francis Prasak, died in January 2001 after his requests for medical treatment were ignored. The daily ration reportedly consists of two bowls of pig fat water soup and 18oz (500g) of sticky rice. Most prisoners rely on their families to deliver food parcels. Between 2003 and 2005, 37 death sentences were handed down by the Laos government. In 2007 at least two people were sentenced to death. Laos says the death penalty is needed to deter trafficking in drugs. In an interview in August 2008, Yong Chanthalangsy, a spokesperson for the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Article 135 of Laos criminal laws, which deals with penalties for drug traffickers, had been modified three times. And in the third change, the government increased the punishment to death penalty. A spokeswoman for Ms Orobator-Oghagbon's local MP, Harriet Harman, said that she was doing everything possible to assist in the case and had been in contact with the Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell about the matter. She said that the immediate priority was to ensure that the trial does not take place before a visit to the UK by the Laotian foreign minister, who is due to arrive next week. May 4, 2009 -- Jezebel (UK)Pregnant Briton May Face Firing Squad In LaosBy Intern KatyOriginal: http://jezebel.com/5239133/pregnant-briton-may-face-firing-squad-in-laos Samantha Orobator, a pregnant 20-year-old from London and possible rape victim, could be facing execution in Laos for her alleged role in drug trafficking. She has not yet been allowed to see a lawyer. Orobator was arrested at Wattay Airport in Laos on August 6th, 2008 with 680g of heroin. In Laos, smuggling over 500g of heroin across national borders carries a mandatory death sentence. She goes on trial this week. Orobator has been held in the notorious Phonthong prison for the past nine months. She has not yet met with her lawyer, and British diplomats only heard of her detention months after she was arrested. Orobator claimed that she was forced to carry drugs for a third party, and there is no evidence she was anything more than just a drug mule. The human rights group Reprieve says that Orobator will meet with her lawyer, Anna Morris, on Tuesday, but by then it may be too late. Reprieve reported that Orobator contacted them recently with the information that the trial had been moved up to Tuesday morning. The charity claims that Laotian authorities have brought the trial forward in attempts to stop Orobator from accessing adequate legal representation. Morris told Sky News: "That has been our concern from the outset, that she has had no access to legal counsel before this week. "We don't know that she is going to have any before any trial takes place and we are deeply concerned about the implications of that for her given her vulnerability, given her age and given her lack of familiarity with the system." To make matters worse, the Independent reports that Orobator's pregnancy may be the result of sexual assault. (She is five months pregnant, and due to give birth in September.) Friends worry that since Orobator is being held in a women's prison, does not speak the language, and should have had no contact with men, her pregnancy may be evidence of abuse. Reprieve said: "The prison where she is being held in Phonthong is meant to be all-female, but this is apparently not the case.'' Laos prisons are famous for their lack of medical care and
mistreatment of prisoners, which has led to the deaths of at
least two foreign nationals in the last decade. The daily ration
apparently consists of two bowls of pig fat water soup and 500g
of sticky rice. Phonthong prison has also been the site of several
reported instances of torture, with some inmates having their
genitals burnt, the Guardian reports. It is unknown whether
Orobator has suffered from mistreatment while behind held in
prison, but since she is only allowed to speak to British officials
for twenty minutes, once a month, and always in the presence
of a guard, the conditions of her arrest and possible rape may
never come to light. |
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