This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8033074.stm

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Pregnant Laos inmate to get visit Laos mum-to-be denied UK lawyer
(about 3 hours later)
A pregnant Briton facing a possible death sentence in Laos if convicted of drug smuggling is expected to meet a human rights lawyer later. A pregnant Briton facing a possible death sentence in Laos if convicted of drug smuggling has been refused access to a human rights lawyer.
Legal charity Reprieve said its lawyer had been given permission to visit Samantha Orabator, 20, of south London. Legal charity Reprieve said a planned meeting with Samantha Orabator, 20, of south London, had been blocked.
Miss Orabator is due to go on trial in the south-east Asian country this week without a defence team. She faces trial this week, accused of possessing 1.5lb (680g) of heroin when arrested at Wattay airport last August.
Prosecutors say she was in possession of 1.5lb (680g) of heroin when she was arrested at Wattay airport last August. A Laos government spokesman told the BBC a pregnant woman would not be sentenced to death.
In Laos, anyone caught with more than 1lb (500g) of heroin faces a mandatory death sentence. In Laos, anyone caught with more than 1lb (500g) of heroin faces a mandatory death sentence and at least 39 people have been sentenced to death in the south-east Asian country since 2003.
At least 39 people have been sentenced to death in Laos since 2003. However, human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported last year that no-one had been executed in Laos since 1989.
Miss Orobator has been held at Phonthong prison, where it is claimed she became pregnant in December. And Laos government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told the BBC Miss Orobator's pregnancy would prevent her execution.
Reprieve says the authorities in Laos have brought her trial forward a year to avoid her having proper legal representation. FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE class="" href="http://bbc.co.uk/worldservice/index.shtml">More from BBC World Service
Reprieve lawyer Anna Morris said she was concerned that Miss Orobator had not been assigned a defence lawyer. "We would not sentence a pregnant woman to the death penalty," he said.
"We are concerned that any hearing may be quite quick in comparison to what will happen in other countries," she said. Mr Nuanthasing said the trial would be conducted fairly but was unable to confirm a date.
"Things are moving quickly. We found out only this morning [Monday] that the trial wasn't going to take place today, but we still have no more information as to when it will take place." Miss Orobator has been held at Phonthong prison, where she reportedly became pregnant in December.
Mother's appeal The Foreign Office said the vice-consul from Bangkok, in Thailand, had been allowed into Phonthong prison to speak to her on Tuesday. It was the seventh visit from UK officials.
But Laotian government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing insisted the trial would be carried out fairly. A spokesman was unable to comment on Miss Orobator's condition but said: "We are paying very close attention to her welfare."
He said it was expected to be held this week but was unable to confirm a date. Claire Algar, from Reprieve, said she was "encouraged" by the assertion that an expectant mother would not be shot but added: "She will only remain pregnant for the next however-many months."
There is no British embassy in Laos, but the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the British vice-consul from Bangkok would also be meeting Miss Orobator later. She also said doctors and the UK Foreign Office had said Miss Orobator had become pregnant while in jail. The Laotian government has claimed she had been pregnant when arrested.
Jane Orobator has appealed for her daughter's releaseJane Orobator has appealed for her daughter's release
A spokeswoman for the FCO said: "He will be seeing her [on Tuesday] to provide consular assistance. Reprieve says its lawyer was refused access to Miss Orobator, without explanation. The charity is urging the authorities to ensure a fair trial.
"It will be in the way we would normally give it - to see about her welfare and well-being and to work towards ensuring she has proper legal advice and proper medical care." Ms Algar said: "It's very necessary that Samantha meet with a laywer and, we would say, both with a British lawyer and Laotian lawyer."
The FCO reiterated the government's opposition to the death penalty "in all circumstances" and said it took "every opportunity to make representations to the Lao authorities about our opposition to the death penalty". She said she was "extremely concerned" about Miss Orobator's welfare.
"People who have left [the prison] in the past have spoken about malnutrition, that they haven't received water regularly, there are no beds on which one can lie and they have also spoken of abuse," she added.
The Foreign Office has reiterated the government's opposition to the death penalty "in all circumstances" and said it took "every opportunity to make representations to the Lao authorities about our opposition to the death penalty".
FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from BBC World Service
Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell is due to raise the case with the Laotian deputy prime minister when they meet in the UK on Thursday.
They are expected to discuss a prisoner exchange agreement between the two countries and it is hoped Miss Orobator might be transferred to the UK as a result.
Miss Orobator was born in Nigeria and lived in south London from the age of eight. Her father lives in Nigeria and her mother and three sisters live in the Irish Republic.Miss Orobator was born in Nigeria and lived in south London from the age of eight. Her father lives in Nigeria and her mother and three sisters live in the Irish Republic.
She had been on holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands before travelling to Laos.She had been on holiday in Thailand and the Netherlands before travelling to Laos.
Her mother Jane Orobator said: "I'm just appealing to the British government, to the Laos authorities, to just please release her. They should just bring her back to me."Her mother Jane Orobator said: "I'm just appealing to the British government, to the Laos authorities, to just please release her. They should just bring her back to me."
Mrs Orobator added that she has no idea why her daughter was in Laos and had last heard from her in July, when she was in the Netherlands.Mrs Orobator added that she has no idea why her daughter was in Laos and had last heard from her in July, when she was in the Netherlands.