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scotkaz · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 526

This story about this 20 year old girl really disturbs me.

Samantha Orobator has been in prison in Laos for 9 months but is 5 months pregnant. There are suggestions of rape.

She has had no lawyer, in fact UK did not know about her because Laos did not tell UK, they said they did not have a fax machine.

Thankfully now she has legal support but it still might be too late for her trial which could go ahead at any time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTVmN1CdjPs

A pregnant Briton who could face a firing squad for allegedly trying to smuggle heroin out of Laos will receive a fair trial, the country's Government said — even though she has yet to be assigned a lawyer.

Human rights groups fear that Samantha Orobator, 20, from South London, will not be able to defend herself properly when her trial — which was due to start today, but has been delayed — begins.

Ms Orobator has been in jail in the Communist country since August, when she was accused of trying to smuggle 1.5lb (0.68kg) of heroin in her luggage. Laos has a mandatory death penalty for those convicted of smuggling more than 1.1lb (0.5kg).

Anna Morris, a lawyer with the British-based human rights group Reprieve, said she was concerned that trial would not meet the judicial standards of most countries.

"She hasn’t been appointed a lawyer yet and that has been our concern," Ms Morris said. "We are concerned that any hearing may be quite quick in comparison to what will happen in other countries."

Ms Morris, who has travelled to Vientiane, the country’s capital, has been granted permission to meet Ms Orobator. She said that the group was worried about Ms Orobator's health.

Reprieve says that she is five months pregnant, having been in custody for more than eight months. It could not confirm whether she was raped in prison, and the circumstances of her pregnancy remain unclear.

"We are concerned about the effect of the uncertainty on Sam’s wellbeing ... given her age, her vulnerability, her pregnancy," Ms Morris said. "We just seek clarity from the Laos Government as soon as possible as to what exactly is going to happen so that we can advise her properly."

Ms Orobator had been in jail for months before the British Government learnt of her detention. British authorities have been able to visit her only for 20 minutes, once a month.

The British vice-consul from Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand flew to Laos yesterday to try to see Ms Orobator. Bill Rammell, the Foreign Office Minister, said that he would raise the case with the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister when they meet in Britain on Thursday.

Ms Morris said: "There has been a significant shift in this trial date. We are still unclear as to the reason for that.

"We are working closely with the British Embassy in Thailand and are encouraging them to do whatever is necessary to put pressure on the authorities to ensure her welfare."

scotkaz · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 526

British officials to meet woman facing death penalty

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

A pregnant woman facing the death penalty in Laos will meet British consular officials today amid growing fears she may not receive a fair trial after being imprisoned on drug smuggling charges.

Samantha Orobator, 20, from south London, was arrested nine months ago at the country's largest airport from where she was trying to return home. In January, while still in prison, she became pregnant in circumstances which have led to claims that she may have been raped.

It was initially thought the Briton, who is accused of smuggling just over 500g of heroin, might face trial as early as yesterday. In Laos, smuggling more than 500g of the drug carries a mandatory death sentence.

Representatives of the legal charity Reprieve publicised her case and over the weekend her mother Jane Orobator, a student at Trinity College Dublin, made an emotional plea for her daughter's release. Yesterday the Laotian government insisted the trial would be carried out fairly but was unable to confirm when it would happen, other than saying it was expected this week.

Today the Londoner will be visited by the vice-consul from Bangkok – the nearest British embassy to Laos – and Anna Morris, a lawyer from Reprieve. Ms Morris said she was concerned that Ms Orobator had not been assigned a defence lawyer, and that any hearing "may be quite quick in comparison to what happens in other countries".

British officials have only been able to visit Ms Orobator for 20 minutes once a month, after learning of her arrest after she had already spent many months in jail.

Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell said he will raise the case with the Laotian Deputy Prime Minister when they meet in the UK on Thursday. He said: "The British Government is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We have made the Laotian authorities aware of this at the highest levels in Samantha's case."

Ms Orobator was born in Nigeria but grew up in Camberwell and Peckham, from the age of eight. Phonthong prison in the Laotian capital, Vientiane, where Ms Orobator is being held, has a reputation for beatings. Cells measuring four square metres are used to house up to six prisoners and the daily ration reportedly consists of two bowls of pig-fat water and rice.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news...facing-death-penalty-1678994.html

Big Wullie · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 1149 Location: Glasgow

If nothing else our Government should investigate the abuse claims and how she became pregnant.

We know the consequences of drugs and drug smuggling in other countries but they are still entitled to a fair hearing at least, and on the face of it.
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scotkaz · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 526

As you may have seen in the media this week, Reprieve is working urgently on behalf of Samantha Orobator, a twenty year old British woman in jail in Laos. Samantha, who is also pregnant with a child due on 6th September, is now facing a hastily arranged trial and possible death sentence.

Samantha left home in July 2008 for a holiday and, after visiting the Netherlands and Thailand, was arrested in Laos with 0.6 kg of heroin. If convicted next week, Samantha could face death by firing squad.

Despite having been detained in Phongthang Prison for more than eight months, Samantha has still has not been given access to legal representation. Samantha’s trial was unexpectedly brought forward last week, and Reprieve is now calling for urgent action by the British and Lao governments to ensure Samantha is given a fair trial.

Reprieve has sent UK barrister, Anna Morris, to Laos to visit Samantha. However, despite earlier guarantees by the Lao authorities that she would be allowed into the prison, she has been denied access. Speaking from Vientiane yesterday, Anna said: "I am deeply frustrated by the lack of access to this vulnerable young woman. This is preventing Reprieve from obtaining first hand knowledge of her welfare and how she is being treated in prison.”

Reprieve is also extremely anxious about the deplorable conditions inside the prison, and the health risks they may pose to both Samantha and her unborn child.

A representative from the Lao government will be visiting Britain tomorrow, and it is hoped the British government will use this as an opportunity to raise Samantha’s case.

Please support Reprieve’s campaign to bring Samantha home, by joining our facebook event at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?...t.php?eid=79827016596&ref=nf.

If you would like to send a message of support to Samantha, please write to Samantha Orobator, c/o Phongthang Prison, Vientiane, Laos.

Reprieve would also like to urge you to write to Samantha’s Member of Parliament, Harriet Harman, requesting her to take urgent action on Samantha’s behalf. Letters can be sent to Harriet Harman MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, or email harmanh@parliament.uk.

Please support Reprieve in this important and valuable work by making a donation via our website, www.reprieve.org.uk.

Thank you very much for all your support.

Best regards

Clare Algar

Executive Director

Reprieve

PO Box 52742

London EC4P 4WS

England

+44 (0)207 353 4640

+44 (0)207 353 4641 (fax)

+44 7884 180 460 (mobile

scotkaz · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 526

Letters can be sent to Harriet Harman MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, or email harmanh@parliament.uk.
Doctor visits Samantha Orobator in jail

May 6, 2009 by Baby Chums

samantha_orobatorAfter months of political pressure a doctor and a British diplomat have been able to visit pregnant Samantha Orobator being held in Laos on charges of smuggling 1.5lb of heroin.

Samantha Orobator, 20, became pregnant in prison according to friends and a spokeswoman for rights group Reprieve, possibly as a result of rape at the notorious Phontong prison.

The British vice-consul visiting Samantha Orobator in jail took with him a doctor who was able to examine Orobator’s health, but they did not release the findings of the exam out of respect for her privacy.

Yesterday we reported that a conviction for carrying that amount of heroin usually results in execution by firing squad, but the Laotian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Orobator would escape that sentence because the country’s criminal law prohibits sentencing pregnant women to death.

Orobator’s trial has not yet been scheduled, but it is likely to happen next week. A Laos lawyer will represent her as part of the countries judicial system and it is normal for a defendant to get a lawyer only days before trial.

Orobator’s mother, Jane, told CNN she cannot believe her daughter was involved in drug trafficking and was even surprised to learn she was in Laos.

“She is not the type of person who would be involved in drugs,” Jane Orobator said. Samantha Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London with her family when she was 8, her mother said.

The amount of heroin Orobator was accused of carrying would have a street value of between $80,000 and $150,000.

scotkaz · Joined: 28 Aug 2008 Posts: 526

Some good news Razz

Samantha returns to UK

Dear Karen

I am delighted that my first opportunity to contact you as the Legal Director of Reprieve’s death penalty team is to update you all on the return of our client, Samantha Orobator, to the UK . Samantha left Laos yesterday and landed at Heathrow this morning, from where she was taken straight to Holloway prison. Although obviously tired after the long journey, she was able to meet with her lawyers when she arrived at the prison, the first time she has spoken to independent legal advisors since she was arrested over a year ago.

Samantha’s mother, Jane, will see her daughter this afternoon, and we are hoping that her friends will be able to see her next week. Samantha gave a statement to her lawyers, saying:

I am enormously relieved and happy to be back on British soil. It has been an unimaginable nightmare. I would like to thank all those who were involved in my return, including various British government officials, for their efforts on my behalf, and for their support. Meanwhile I would be grateful for a little peace as this has been a very traumatic experience both for me, and for my unborn child.

Reprieve is now working hard to ensure that the British government does not seek to enforce the life sentence given to Samantha by the Lao court. We have pointed out that Samantha had no access to independent legal counsel, was not allowed to present a defence at trial, and was coerced into signing numerous contradictory statements by the Lao regarding her pregnancy and the paternity of her child. Moreover, she was repeatedly threatened with the death penalty, despite the fact that Lao law prohibits the imposition of the death penalty on pregnant women.

The show trial she was put through does not come anywhere near the standards required for a fair trial, and Reprieve would be horrified if the British government considered it appropriate to impose upon Samantha a sentence obtained in such outrageous manner.

While early comments from the Ministry of Justice suggest that they will seek to uphold the Lao sentence, Reprieve is working with Samantha’s lawyers to challenges the legality of such a decision., and will do so early next week if there is no announcement from the Ministry of Justice sooner.

Successes such as Samantha’s repatriation would not be possible without your support – thank you. Please continue to help us achieve freedom for prisoners denied justice around the world by making a donation at www.reprieve.org.uk.

All the best,

Sally

More on Samantha’s Case

Samantha was arrested on 6 August 2008 at Wattay airport in Vientiane , in possession of 0.68kg of heroin.

Samantha was held at Phongthong prison, in an all-female wing, with only female staff. Despite this, she became pregnant in prison. The precise details of how she became pregnant remain unclear – the Lao authorities forced Samantha to sign several statements about the baby, saying that she would not be given a trial unless she did so. These statements all contradict each other, and cannot be relied upon.

Conditions at Phongthong are notoriously bad – a British man, Michael Newman, died in the male section of the prison in 2008. The rations in prison are pitiful – two bowls of pig-fat water soup a day, with some sticky rice. This is woefully deficient for any adult, but especially for a pregnant woman.

Until Reprieve got involved, it was likely that Samantha’s case would have taken two years to come to trial. She had no lawyer, and when Reprieve sent UK barrister Anna Morris to Laos to assist her, the Lao government denied Anna access to Samantha, and moved the trial forward to a date before Anna was due to arrive. Samantha was eventually appointed a Lao lawyer, but was never able to meet with him in private, and he was not an independent advocate.

Her trial was a sham. No witnesses were called, no defence was presented on her behalf, and the prosecution asked the court to impose the death penalty despite her pregnancy, because of the adverse media coverage her case had created. This horrifying situation continued after the trial, with her appointed lawyer attempting to sabotage her repatriation to the UK , and continued stalling from the Lao government on the issue of the transfer.

For further information on our work visit www.reprieve.org.uk

Sally Rowen

Legal Director (Death Penalty)