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/8037408.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Action call on jailed Laos Briton Deal may bring Laos Briton home
(about 7 hours later)
Gordon Brown must make "forceful representations" to the authorities in Laos to ensure a pregnant Briton gets a fair trial, a legal charity has said. A pregnant Briton accused of smuggling heroin in Laos could return home to serve her sentence if she is found guilty, the Foreign Office has said.
Reprieve is delivering a letter to Downing Street urging the prime minister to intervene in the case of mother-to-be Samantha Orobator. Foreign Secretary David Miliband has signed a prisoner transfer agreement in London with the Laotian government.
The 20-year-old from south London is facing trial, accused of possessing 680g (1.5lb) of heroin last year. Samantha Orobator, 20, from south London, has been held in jail awaiting trial since last August.
UK ministers are due to raise the case with Laos's deputy prime minister A conviction could carry the death sentence - but her pregnancy would exclude her, the Laos government said.
Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell is due to discuss the issue during a meeting in London. Ms Orobator was allegedly caught with 680g (1.5lb) of heroin at Wattay airport.
We still have grave concerns about the fairness of any legal process Clare AlgarReprieve 'Encouraged'
Miss Orobator, who was arrested at Laos's Wattay airport last August and has since been held at Phonthong prison, could face trial next week. Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell today discussed her case with the deputy prime minister of Laos, Thongloun Sisoulith.
But Reprieve's executive director Clare Algar called on Mr Brown to do all he could to ensure the Briton was returned to the UK. He said he was reassured by Dr Sisoulith that a pregnant woman would not be executed.
In the letter being handed to Downing Street, she writes: "Samantha is being held in deplorable conditions... and is now five months pregnant." It must be recognised that Samantha faces the most stressful experience of her life, and we very much fear for her health and that of her unborn child Clive Stafford SmithReprieve
She adds: "We still have grave concerns about the fairness of any legal process. Mr Rammell said: "He said the Lao authorities understood the need for Samantha to receive good medical and nutritional care.
"It is imperative that the British government make forceful representations to the Laos authorities to ensure that Samantha receives a fair trial and that she and her baby are safely returned to the UK." "I was encouraged that Samantha has now been provided with a local lawyer, who is working with the UK barrister from Reprieve."
Foreign Office visit A spokesman for the human rights group said that if she were convicted it would push for her return to be fast-tracked before 6 June - the start of her third trimester of pregnancy.
Director Clive Stafford Smith said: "We hope that all the efforts of the past several days will bear fruit.
"But it must be recognised that Samantha faces the most stressful experience of her life, and we very much fear for her health and that of her unborn child."
Ms Orobator, who is being held at Phonthong prison, could face trial next week.
In Laos, anyone caught with more than 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.In Laos, anyone caught with more than 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.
However, human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported last year that no-one had been executed in Laos since 1989. But human rights watchdog Amnesty International reported last year that no-one had actually been executed in Laos since 1989.
Laos government spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told the BBC earlier this week that Miss Orobator's pregnancy would prevent her execution.
The Foreign Office has said the British vice-consul from Bangkok, in Thailand, was allowed into Phonthong prison to speak to her on Tuesday. It was the seventh visit from UK officials.The Foreign Office has said the British vice-consul from Bangkok, in Thailand, was allowed into Phonthong prison to speak to her on Tuesday. It was the seventh visit from UK officials.
But Reprieve says its human rights lawyer was refused access to Miss Orobator on Tuesday, without explanation. Reprieve human rights lawyers were refused access to Ms Orobator on Tuesday, without explanation.
Miss Orobator, who was born in Nigeria and lived in south London from the age of eight, had travelled to the Netherlands and Thailand before going to Laos. Ms Orobator, who was born in Nigeria and has lived in south London since childhood , had travelled to the Netherlands and Thailand before going to Laos.