Life for drug charge Briton in Laos
A court in Laos has found a pregnant British woman guilty of trafficking heroin and sentenced her to life in prison.
A British Embassy spokesman said the verdict on 20-year-old Samantha Orobator was handed down at a one-day hearing in the Lao capital.
Daniel Painter, a spokesman for the British Embassy in neighbouring Thailand, attended the trial.
Heroin trafficking is punishable by death, but Lao law does not allow the execution of pregnant women. Under a recent pact, she could be extradited to serve her time in Britain.
Orobator's case attracted particular attention because she became pregnant while incarcerated. Lao officials have asserted that she may have managed to artificially inseminate herself while behind bars.
