Indonesia is set to repatriate two British nationals imprisoned for drug-related crimes in Bali, following a bilateral agreement between Jakarta and London, officials said Thursday.
Lindsay Sandiford, 69, who was on death row, and Shahab Shahabadi, 35, serving a life sentence, are scheduled to leave Bali early Friday, according to Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s coordinating minister for law, human rights, immigration and correctional institutions.
“They will fly shortly after midnight to Dubai before continuing to London,” Mahendra told the Associated Press, adding that both inmates suffer from serious health issues.
The prisoner transfer agreement was signed on October 21 by Mahendra and British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, allowing the convicts to serve the remainder of their sentences in the UK.
Sandiford was arrested in May 2012 upon arrival in Bali from Bangkok, after customs officials found 3.8 kilograms of cocaine worth about $2.5 million concealed in her suitcase. Though prosecutors did not seek capital punishment, she was sentenced to death in 2013, sparking criticism from Britain and human rights groups.
Shahabadi was detained in Jakarta in 2014 for his role in an international drug trafficking ring that smuggled methamphetamine from Iran. He has been held in the high-security Nusa Kambangan prison, often dubbed Indonesia’s “Alcatraz,” and was moved to Bali ahead of his repatriation.
Indonesia enforces some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws, with around 530 inmates currently on death row — nearly 100 of them foreign nationals — according to official data.
Under President Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia has repatriated several foreign prisoners through bilateral arrangements, including citizens of the Philippines, Australia, and France. The president has also pledged to grant clemency to about 44,000 inmates as part of a broader national reconciliation initiative.
End/AP/UNB/SS