A woman will face a firing squad
A PREGNANT woman will face a firing squad if convicted of drug-smuggling next week. Former Sacred Heart School pupil Samantha Orobator, 20, of Kitson Road, Camberwell, is due to stand trial in Laos, south-east Asia. She has been held in the “notoriously abusive” Phonthong Prison since August and became pregnant in December. Legal charity Reprieve only learnt of her case last week.
Anna Morris, a lawyer from the human rights organisation, flew to Laos on Sunday. A Reprieve spokeswoman in London said Ms Morris was due to meet Samantha on Tuesday. She said: “We’re trying to make the most of what we know.
“The way things are going we’ll be lucky if Anna gets to see Samantha before the trial starts. Everything is up in the air, it’s a very scary situation.”
Ronke Oseni, 21, who lived with Samantha in Peckham for eight months before she went missing said: “She was living with me and my family and she was meant to come back – her belongings are still under the stairs.
“I only found out on Wednesday she was still alive. “I thought the worst so it was a relief to find out where she is, but I’m really scared for her and the baby.” Ronke said her friend was “very, very intelligent” and wanted to become a neurosurgeon after applying to university this summer.
She said: “She’s very strong but there’s only so much you can cope with no matter how strong you are.” She said she had never known Samantha to even try a cigarette, let alone drugs. Serge Cefai, headteacher of Sacred Heart School on Camberwell New Road, said Samantha was a “very quiet, well-behaved girl”.
She said: “This is a complete shock to us all.” Samantha was visiting her mum Jane Orobator in Dublin last May before she headed to the Netherlands and then Thailand. She denies the 680g of heroin found in her luggage at Laos was hers.
Anyone found guilty of smuggling more than 500g of drugs into Laos automatically faces the death penalty. Reprieve said Samantha’s trial was scheduled for next year but had suddenly been brought forward to yesterday after the charity announced it was flying out Ms Morris to meet her today.
Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, last week made urgent representations to the Foreign Office to help Samantha. Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said on Saturday: “The British Government is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.
“We are providing consular assistance to Samantha paying close attention to her welfare. “British Embassy officials, including the Ambassador have visited her six times [and] the Australian Embassy doctor has visited Samantha ten times on our behalf.” South Londay Today
