Bali drugs mule gran pictured back on UK soil after years on death row
Lindsay Sandiford, 69, has finally returned to the UK after spending 13 years under a death sentence in Indonesia for smuggling £1.6 million worth of cocaine into Bali. Once 56, she admitted to the crime in 2012 but said she was forced by an international drug ring threatening her family.
Sentenced to death by firing squad in 2013, Sandiford endured harsh prison conditions for over a decade before authorities granted her release on humanitarian grounds last month.
After a 20-hour journey with a layover, she arrived at London Heathrow Airport on a £600 government-funded ticket, stepping on British soil for the first time in more than ten years. Reports say she is eager to reunite with her family and seek urgent medical care following her release.
“Doctors have assessed Lindsay and determined she's very unwell. She has spent 12 years in one of the worst prisons in the world and that has taken its toll on her. She's desperate to get home, she's been preparing for months. Before leaving prison she said a farewell to the other prisoners who have become like family to her.”
Sandiford’s release closes one of the longest and most publicized British death-row cases in Indonesia, where she lived through years of uncertainty and deteriorating health.
Author’s Summary
After more than a decade facing execution in Indonesia, Lindsay Sandiford has returned home to the UK, frail but free, hoping to reunite with her loved ones and recover her health.