Temporary execution reprieve for Lindsay Sandiford
Indonesian death sentence moratorium means British grandmother facing death sentence for smuggling cocaine gets stay of execution
Lindsay Sandford wins temporary repreive from execution
By David Millward
2:55AM GMT 21 Nov 2015
Lindsay Sandiford, the British grandmother who is due to be executed after being convicted of trying to smuggle cocaine into Bali, has won a temporary reprieve after Indonesia put the death penalty on hold.
A moratorium on executions was announced by Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs.
Sandiford, from Redcar, Teesside, was arrested after being caught attempting to smuggle 3.8kg of cocaine when she arrived in Bali from Bangkok in 2012.
She was sentenced to death by firing squad in January 2013 and a series of appeals have since been rejected. In April the execution of eight convicted drug smugglers – including seven foreigners – led to global condemnation and protests from a number of governments.
Ministers have condemned Bali death sentence for drug trafficking British grandmother
Sandiford has two further avenues of appeal and an opportunity to apply for presidential clemency if those fail Photo: Reuters
Indonesia toughened its narcotics policy following the election of Joko Widodo as president last year.
Sandiford, 59, was convinced that her execution was imminent.
Mr Panjaitan said the decision to put executions on hold was intended to enable the country to concentrate on fixing its ailing economy.
The moratorium was welcomed by a lawyer representing another woman on Indonesia’s death row, Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino, who was also convicted for acting as a drug courier.
Edre Olalia, secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers and counsel of the Veloso family, added that he hoped it would culminate in the death penalty being abandoned in Indonesia.
"We hope it leads to a permanent abolition in time as we have serious objections and questions about its effect and purpose in deterring crime, precludes rehabilitation and reformation, and worse, may victimise innocent individuals who are wrongly convicted for different reasons or factors."
Lindsay June Sandiford (L) speaks with her sister Hillary Parsons (R) at holding cell after her trial at a court in Denpasar on the Indonesian resort island of Bali Photo: SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP
