British woman sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into Bali

Описание: (22 Jan 2013) SHOTLIST
1. British woman Lindsay June Sandiford, covered her face with a scarf, entering court detention room
2. Sandiford, surrounded by media, entering courtroom
3. Wide of courtroom
4. Sandiford sitting in court, surrounded by media
5. Various of judge
6. Wide of courtroom
7. Mid of Sandiford sitting next to interpreter
8. Close of Sandiford covering her face with hands
9. Close of prosecutor
10. Media and prosecutor
11. Sandiford standing up for her verdict
12. Mid of judge, UPSOUND (Indonesian) "The sentence is death penalty." ++Audio quality as incoming++
13. Close of Sandiford, with closed eyes, listening to the verdict
14. Mid of judge
15. Interpreter explaining to Sandiford
16. Sandiford's lawyer and one of her friends (left), outside court
17.SOUNDBITE (Indonesian) Esra Karo-Karo, Defence lawyer:
"She was very shocked. This is unpredicted, she never thought of receiving death penalty. The judge did not even consider our reason to leniency as we proposed in our defence. We will appeal."
18. Exterior of Denpasar District Court
STORYLINE
An Indonesian court sentenced a British woman to death on Tuesday for smuggling cocaine worth 2.5 (m) million US dollars in her suitcase onto the resort island of Bali, even though prosecutors had sought only a 15-year sentence.
Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, wept when judges handed down the sentence and declined to speak to reporters on her way to the court and later back to prison, covering her face with a floral scarf.
She had claimed in court that she was forced into taking the drugs into the country by a gang that was threatening to hurt her children.
Indonesia, like many Asian countries, is very strict on drug crimes, and most of the more than 40 foreigners on its death row were convicted of drug charges.
Sandiford's lawyer said she would appeal.
Appeals take several years, and the country has not carried out an execution since 2008, when 10 people were put to death.
A verdict is expected in the trial of Sandiford's alleged accomplice, British man Julian Anthony Pounder, on Wednesday.
He is accused of receiving the drugs in Bali, which has a busy bar and nightclub scene where party drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy are bought and sold between foreigners.
Two other British citizens and an Indian have already been convicted and sentenced to prison in connection with the bust.
In its verdict, a judge panel at the Denpasar District Court concluded that Sandiford had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and
weakened the government's drug prevention program.
Prosecutors had been seeking a 15-year prison sentence for Sandiford, who was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali's airport discovered 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine in the lining of her luggage.
Indonesia has 114 prisoners on death row, according to a March 2012 study by Australia's Lowy Institute for International Policy.
Five foreigners have been executed since 1998, all for drug crimes, according to the institute.


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