'Drug-smuggling' Briton became pregnant IN Laos jail... and now she won't face the firing squad

A pregnant British woman accused of trafficking heroin in Laos will not face the death penalty because the law bans executing expectant convicts, a Laotian government spokesman has said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing also said the trial of 20-year-old Samantha Orobator would not be held until next week so that an 'appropriate lawyer' could be found to defend her.

It had been expected to start this week and there were fears that Miss Orobator might face death by firing squad.

'It might take some time,' Mr Khenthong said from the capital Vientiane.

He said that the justice ministry was compiling a list of lawyers - who must be Lao nationals - from which she could choose.

The circumstances of Ms Orobator's pregnancy remained unclear, though a Laos government spokesman said that she told authorities in an interview after her arrest that she had become pregnant with her boyfriend.

The British legal charity Reprieve, however, said Ms Orobator was currently five months pregnant - meaning she became pregnant while in prison.

Director Clive Stafford Smith has written to Foreign Secretary David Miliband asking him to intervene to ensure Ms Orobator got independent legal advice.

He said: 'We are all glad to see that the Laotians have recognised that their own law forbids executing Samantha by firing squad.

'But this is only a first, belated step forward. It was cruel to allow Samantha to think she might be shot for all these months, and the Laotians knew all along that she needed a lawyer.

'What they did not know is the international outrage that the case would cause. It seems that by delaying they now hope that the media will lose interest in Samantha's plight.'

He also criticised reports that Laotian officials had claimed Ms Orobator was already pregnant when she was arrested.

He said: 'Samantha is due on September 6, 2009, when she will have been in prison for 13 months.

'Perhaps the Laotians are under the misapprehension that she is a blue whale, that has a 13 month gestation period, but she is not, she is a human being.'

The charity also released details of a US Department of State report from 2008 that described prison conditions in Laos as 'generally harsh and occasionally life-threatening'.

Phonthong prison has a reputation for beatings and brutality. There has been no comment on whether she was raped in prison.

Ms Orobator has been in the prison since August on charges of smuggling 1.5lb of heroin.
Today a human rights lawyer and a British diplomat were both refused access to Ms Orobator, 20.

Anna Morris, a lawyer for fair trials group Reprieve, was due to see Ms Orobator for the first time after flying to Laos over the weekend but, along with the British Embassy official, was denied access to her.

Khenthong Nuanthasing, a Lao government spokesman, told The Times that he believed that the trial would now be postponed until next week 'due to the issue that we need a lawyer for her'.

'Another provision of the law also provides that any pregnant (woman) will not be sentenced to the death penalty,' said Mr Khenthong, adding that the judge would decide on the sentence at the trial.

Britain has no diplomatic presence in the Communist south-east Asian country and there is no precedent for a drug case involving a Briton, making negotiations with the authorities difficult.

Ms Morris said she was concerned that a trial would not meet the judicial standards of most countries.

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

Ms Morris, who arrived on Sunday in the Laotian capital Vientiane, said she had been granted permission to meet Ms Orobator today.

The British vice-consul from Bangkok in neighbouring Thailand flew into Laos yesterday and also hoped to see Ms Orobator today.

Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell plans to raise the case when he meets the deputy prime minister of Laos on Thursday.

'We are primarily concerned with ensuring that she gets a fair trial and avoids the death penalty,' said a Government source.

A spokesman later confirmed: 'We have been pressing the Laos authorities to ensure Samantha has got legal representation.'

Laos government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing insisted yesterday that the trial would be carried out fairly.

'The trial is expected to be held this week but I don't know the exact dates,' he said, adding that it was up to the judge.

Ms Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London to live with her aunt from the age of eight. She lived in Camberwell and Peckham before leaving the country to travel to Ireland, Holland and Thailand. She was arrested at Laos airport on her way back to the UK.

Her mother, Jane Orobator, a student at Trinity College, Dublin, broke down yesterday as she said: 'I just want them to bring her back to me. I'm really terrified. I have been crying my eyes out.'

The only communication she has received from her daughter was a letter fed through the Australian embassy in January asking for a blanket, black pepper, soap, a mosquito net, candles and matches.

Since 2003, at least 39 people have been sentenced to death in Laos but the last known execution was in 1990. None of the convicts was a foreign national. continues here

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