by Peter Griffiths
LONDON (AFP) — A heavily pregnant Briton sentenced to life in prison in Laos for drugs trafficking landed back in London on Friday to serve out the rest of her sentence. Samantha Orobator, 20, flew back into London Heathrow Airport, the Press Association news agency reported.
Dressed in casual clothing, she seemed in good spirits as she was met by uniformed police, PA said.
Orobato's transfer followed pressure from the British government, including a letter sent in July by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to his Lao counterpart, Boausone Bouphavanh.
"The transfer means that Samantha will give birth in the UK, close to her relatives and under UK medical care," Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said in a statement. "This is clearly the best outcome for all, not least her unborn child."
Bryant completed a prisoner transfer agreement with the Lao authorities during a visit to the country last month.
Orobator was arrested at Wattay airport in the capital Vientiane in August 2008 with 0.68 kg of heroin, above the minimum amount required for a suspect to receive the death penalty.
However, Lao officials had assured British ministers she would not face capital punishment. A Lao court sentenced Nigerian-born Orobator on June 3.
Legal charity Reprieve said Orobator was due to give birth in September after she became pregnant in prison while awaiting trial last December.
It has not been disclosed how she conceived while behind bars, although her mother Jane Orobator said her daughter had not been raped and the father was not a Lao prison official.
The Foreign Office said another British prisoner held in Laos, John Watson, may also be released "in the very near future" after his detention in 2003 for drug smuggling.
"I look to the Laos authorities to ensure that this happens," Bryant said. "I remain extremely concerned for (his) health."
