Copyright dailyrecord
A British grandmother who spent 12-years on death row in Indonesia has finally arrived back in the UK. Lindsay Sandiford, 69, was pictured for the first time since leaving Bali’s Kerobokan Prison on Thursday, arriving at Heathrow Airport after a 20-hour flight. She travelled under a £600 ticket funded by the UK government, arranged through an agreement with Indonesian authorities. Sandiford, a former legal secretary, was sentenced to death in 2013 after authorities discovered £1.7 million worth of cocaine hidden in the false bottom of her suitcase when she arrived from Thailand in 2012. Changes to Indonesian law, combined with her exemplary conduct during her more than a decade behind bars, made her eligible for release on humanitarian grounds. A source told the Mirror : “Lindsay is extremely unwell. She is desperate to get home and be with her family. More than a decade in one of the world’s harshest prisons has taken its toll, and she wants nothing more than to return to the UK.” It is understood that Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper personally lobbied Indonesian officials for her release due to her poor health. Foreign Office officials have reportedly been working on the deal for more than 18 months, with regular visits to the prison. Pastor Christine Buckingham, who visited Sandiford last week, told the Mirror : “She is in extremely poor health and keen to be reunited with her family after these 13 years. She wants to get home and enjoy some creature comforts. The most important thing now is that she receives medical attention, then she hopes to spend as much time as possible with her family.” Sandiford was released alongside fellow UK national Shahab Shahabadi, 35, who had been serving a life sentence for drug offences since 2014. The grandmother was seen in a wheelchair, hiding her face from photographers as she boarded the flight with British officials by her side, marking the end of a harrowing chapter in her life.
