A British grandmother who spent over a decade on death row in Bali for drug trafficking is finally returning home.
Lindsay Sandiford, a former legal secretary from Redcar, Teesside, is being repatriated to the UK as part of an agreement between the British and Indonesian governments.
Her release ends a harrowing 12-year journey that began in May 2012, when she was arrested for smuggling £1.6 million ($2.14 million) worth of cocaine into Indonesia, per the Independent.
What was Sandiford convicted of?
She was convicted in 2013 after customs officers discovered the drugs hidden in a false bottom of her suitcase upon her arrival from Bangkok.
Despite her cooperation with police and claims of coercion by a drug syndicate, Sandiford was sentenced to death by firing squad — a punishment that shocked many.
Indonesian authorities charged Sandiford under some of the strictest drug laws in the world. The then-56-year-old claimed she was forced into trafficking by a criminal gang that had threatened her son.
Initially, she said she was coerced; however, during police questioning, her account shifted. She later admitted being recruited by British antiques dealer Julian Ponder and his partner Rachel Dougall, both living in Bali at the time.
Sandiford agreed to cooperate in a police sting operation that led to the arrests of Ponder and another man, Paul Beales.
Dougall and Beales avoided trafficking charges — Dougall received a one-year sentence for failing to report a crime, and Beales was sentenced to four years for hashish possession. Ponder served six years for narcotics possession.
Despite her cooperation and even the prosecution’s request for a 15-year sentence, the court handed Sandiford the death penalty.
Legal Struggles and a High-Profile Fight for Her Life
Sandiford faced significant legal hurdles throughout her case. With limited funds, she relied on a public fundraising campaign to pay for her legal defense. Two appeals — one to the High Court in Bali and another to the Indonesian Supreme Court — were both denied.
Criminologist Jennifer Fleetwood of City St George’s, University of London, provided an expert statement to the Indonesian court before the sentencing, per the Metro.
She collaborated with the anti-death penalty charity Reprieve and later shared her reaction to the outcome: “I worked alongside Reprieve and provided an expert statement to the Indonesian court in 2012.
"I was deeply shocked when she was sentenced to death. It was always my assessment that her account of being coerced was credible and so the death penalty was disproportionate.
"I am so pleased to hear that Lindsay Sandiford will be repatriated. She has served a very long sentence indeed. I wish her all the best as she prepares to return home to her family.”
Human rights groups, including Reprieve, echoed this view, arguing that Sandiford had been exploited and was suffering from mental health issues.