Freed British Drug Mule Faces Possible UK Jail After Bali Nightmare
After spending more than a decade on Bali’s death row, Lindsay Sandiford, 69, is set to return to Britain but may face immediate imprisonment upon arrival. The Foreign Office has not confirmed what will happen when she lands in the UK.
“In England, she will remain in prison,”
stated Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Immigration and Correctional Coordination, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram.
Sandiford, a frail grandmother who once worked as a legal secretary, was sentenced to death for smuggling £1.6 million worth of cocaine into Indonesia. She was photographed in a wheelchair at Bali’s Kerobokan jail, where she had spent 13 years, before being transported to Denpasar International Airport.
Her release followed a bilateral agreement reached between Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government and Indonesian authorities. The UK covered her £600 ticket on a Qatar Airways flight, allowing her to begin the 20-hour journey home in poor health.
A Long Journey Home
- Sandiford was convicted in Indonesia for drug smuggling in 2013.
- She spent 13 years on death row at Bali’s Kerobokan jail.
- Her future in Britain remains uncertain, with officials refusing to clarify her legal status.
Her story closes a grim chapter marked by isolation, ill health, and the fear of execution—yet her freedom may prove short-lived.
Author’s Summary
After 13 years on Bali’s death row, Lindsay Sandiford returns to Britain under a cloud of uncertainty, facing the possibility of renewed imprisonment despite her long ordeal.