Samantha Orobator

Phonthong prison, Laos In August of last year a British woman, Samantha Orobator , 20, was arrested at Wattay airport in Laos. It is alleged by Laotian authorities that she was in possession of 680 grams of heroin. The amount of heroin she is accused of possessing exceeds the statutory minimum for the death penalty in Laos. Ms Orobator, who is five months pregnant, is presently incarcerated in Phonthong prison awaiting trial. The prison is supposedly a women's facility. Questions have been raised by campaigners about how Ms Orobator could have become pregnant in jail. There has been speculation that she may have been ... Read Full Story

When I read that a 20 year old (some put her at 23) woman who was pregnant was possibly facing a death by firing squad, I was LIVID. I am pro-choice, but I am also pro-life. Add to the fact that it would not be Samantha's choice for the baby to be terminated, I was on fire with rage. When I found out that it was a black woman, my heart dropped because I knew the fuckery I would encounter in the comments section. Boy, did I. Here's some background from the Times Online : A British woman facing trial in Laos on drug ... Read Full Story

A heavily pregnant Briton sentenced to life in prison in Laos for drugs trafficking landed back in London on Friday to give birth and serve out the rest of her sentence. Samantha Orobator, 20, flew back into Heathrow Airport, where she was met by uniformed police and taken in a police van to Holloway Prison, a north London women's jail. Orobator pleaded guilty to smuggling heroin and would have faced the death penalty in Laos had she not been pregnant. Due to give birth within weeks, she was handed over to officials from Britain's Ministry of Justice in Laos and flown home via Bangkok. ... Read Full Story

A pregnant Briton sentenced to life in prison in Laos for drugs trafficking was on Thursday due to be sent home for Britain to serve out her sentence, just weeks before the expected birth of her baby. Samantha Orobator, 20, who was first arrested a year ago, was due to fly to Bangkok and then on to Britain, Lao foreign ministry spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told AFP. The spokesman said there would be a "handover ceremony" at 8:30 pm (1330 GMT). Orobator was then scheduled to fly out on a Bangkok-bound Thai Airways flights at 9:45 pm. "She has served one year in Laos, the ... Read Full Story

A woman, transferred when she was heavily pregnant from Laos to Britain to serve out her life sentence for drugs trafficking, has given birth, her lawyers said Saturday. Samantha Orobator flew back to London last month after the two countries signed a prisoner transfer agreement. Orobator pleaded guilty to smuggling heroin and would have faced the death penalty in Laos had she not been pregnant. The 20-year-old gave birth to a baby girl several weeks ago after being briefly transferred from a London prison to hospital, a spokeswoman for legal charity Reprieve said. "It came earlier than we thought but we're not sure if ... Read Full Story