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Pregnant British Woman Faces Firing Squad

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Post  Guest Sun May 03, 2009 1:21 pm

HUMAN rights campaigners yesterday said the Foreign Office was too late in trying to help a pregnant Briton who faces death by firing squad in Laos.

Samantha Orobator, 20, was arrested at Wattay Airport in Laos in August last year after she was allegedly caught with 1.5lb (680g) of heroin. If she is convicted, at a trial scheduled to begin this week, she will receive the death penalty.

Link to full story

What do you think about this story? The woman in pregnant ... and she must have become pregnant whilst in custody, that's one thing to think about. Secondly, even if you believe in the death penalty for drug crimes such as these, do you think the baby should be allowed to die too? Shouldn't the date be put back to at least allow the baby to be born?

WYO?
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Post  mummyloves3 Sun May 03, 2009 10:00 pm

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Post  Henri Mon May 04, 2009 12:56 am

I think it's criminal that the government hasn't done anything to protect her from this. Even if she is guilty, I'm pretty sure there are international laws against this sort of thing.
Also, as you said, she became pregnant in custody, which is disgusting and criminal in itself. I'm really disturbed by the fact that nothing has been done to get her out of this situation. Have her deported and tried in the UK. I'm all for criminals being punished and I'm mostly all for you paying for the crime you commit in the country you commit it in, with the sentence that it carries in that country, but I strongly strongly oppose the death penalty for drug trafficking or drug offences.

As for the baby, as awful as it sounds, I think death before birth would be a better destiny than any life that child could lead once born. Being put into the custody of the government and system that allowed the rape of it's mother and ignored her human rights? I'd rather my child die with me than live with them.
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Post  3for3 Wed May 06, 2009 12:24 am

ooh gosh. I think that when you visit a country and commit a crime like this you know what you are doing and the risks you are taking. Therefore whilst I oppose it in principle I do think that if she took a chance and it didn't pay off so she pays the price like anyone else in that country.

The fact she is pregnant does not really cloud that although I have serious ethical issues with a woman being killed when she will be so heavily pregnant. Laos officials say she won't be executed whilst pregnant though. I did not realise she became preggers after being arrested which gives a hint to the situation she now finds herself in. Pretty much as bad as i could ever imagine. If she was raped by someone whilst in custody is that a crime in Laos? Not that i have any idea how that could be proved.

For me the question is really down to whether she did it or not...as in pre-meditated act of crime. If she fully intended to traffic and is guilty then i do tend to feel that she made her choice when she did that (and yes I am aware of the fact vulnerable people can get caught up in drugs). If she'd got away with it that heroin could be winging its way into the hands of children, young adults or adults in this country...she may have been paid quite a bit for that...so in my eyes this risk didn't pay off and she'll pay the price.
Do I agree with the death penalty? No.
Do I think we should intervene and stop this from happening? Undecided. For me i would like to see the trial be open and fair. I wonder if we'll ever really know the extent of her guilt.
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Post  Henri Wed May 06, 2009 12:56 pm

^The very fact that she is pregnant is proof of rape in custody, unless they're going to claim she somehow escaped, had a torrid affair with someone, and then was re-caught, all without anyone else knowing about it. She is in a female-only facility, so there is a very limited pool of people who could physically be responsible.

Whether she did it or not is not completely relevant anymore. When a prisoner has their basic human rights violated to this level, they should not be tried by the people violating those rights, because those people have a vested interest in finding her guilty and killing her. At the very least, she should be transported from the facility she is currently in to a place where she can receive medical attention and monitoring. If they were happy to rape her when she came in, do you really think they'll have stopped because she's pregnant? She has no chance of a fair trial where she is, and that is what I object to in this case.
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Post  Mrs Big Boobs Wed May 06, 2009 3:17 pm

So....playing devils' advocate...

Suppose she decided to 'come onto ' a male guard thinking 'special treatment' , got pregnant and thought 'well , I won't get killed now?'

I am NOT saying that this is what has happened [i] but it could have done.

She got caught doing something illegal, she would have known the penalties, she should be treated accordingly. If it was a Laostian(?) would we feel the same? There are probably hundreds of executions a year - why should 1 person 'get away with it'?
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Post  Jeliwobble Wed May 06, 2009 3:28 pm

Unfortunately, because that person is a citizen of another country that doesn't currently have the death penalty.

I'm not sure what I think. The facts are that she did it and should have realised what the consequences were but her treatment since appears to be nothing less than appalling. Even if you are definitely going in front of a firing squad, surely you still have human rights? Or do you give those up when you become a drug smuggler?
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Post  Mrs Big Boobs Wed May 06, 2009 4:02 pm

Yes people do have human rights but even if she IS from a country which doesn't have the death penalty , why are her human rights more 'important ' than those who live in said country. (iyswim?)

If a Laotian was caught drug smuggling here, s/he would be treated the same way as a British citizen .

Surely some human rights activists would say to be imprisoned is a violation of Human rights?

I don't agree with the death penalty .

I hate 'debating' online ....I think faster than I type and lose train of thought!
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Post  Jeliwobble Wed May 06, 2009 4:44 pm

If a Laotian was found to be drug smuggling in the UK, I believe s/he would be immediately deported, I hope someone can correct me if I'm wrong. I think that's what all citizens of another country should be required to do. Smuggling small amounts, such as that she was caught with, is fairly obviously not the same as someone who has a boat full of the stuff. It seems clear to me that she was no more than a transport and they should not be punishing the mules, they should be using the mules to find the REAL culprits. If they had caught her, got her to name the person who'd given it to her, got her to lead them to the person and then sent her packing with a lifetime ban on entering the country, then I think I would have more sympathy.

I'm not sure that Amnesty International have any real sway with how people are treated once they have crossed the line and actually committed a crime; they're more interested in those who've been imprisoned for trumped up crimes or things that are ridiculous, like looking at a policeman in the 'wrong' way.
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Post  Moomin76 Wed May 06, 2009 8:38 pm

I don't think that Britain routinely deports criminal back to their own country for trial. Our prisons are full of foreign nationals who have been tried here. We would only deport them if they had committed their crime in another country and that country asked for us to send them back (and we had a treaty with that country). If they commit the crime here, then in general they serve their punishment here (I think!)

I don't know what to think of this particular story because there is so much information missing. Such as how she became pg in prison - was she raped by a guard? Was it consensual sex with a guard or a visitor?

At the end of the day, IF she has committed a crime then she must pay the punishment dictated by the country in which she committed the crime. I don't believe in the death penalty, but I would not want Laos to treat her any differently from one of their own nationals. What I do believe in though, is everyone's right to a fair trial. It appears from the press coverage that she is not going to get a fair trial........ but then who really knows what is going on? It's all speculation and supposition and I hate making decisions based on anything less than true information.
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Post  cu2 Wed May 13, 2009 12:49 pm

other palces, different rules, all life is precious, horrible expereinces, much pain, thinking of family, lotza loves
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