Woman facing death-penalty in Bali attacks UK government

A BRITISH grandmother facing the death penalty in Bali after being convicted of drug smuggling has said she feels let down by the British government.

Lindsay Sandiford, from Cheltenham, was sentenced to death by firing squad by a court in Indonesia for taking £1.6 million of cocaine into the country.

The 56-year-old recently gave notice of her intention to appeal against the sentence, but lost her appeal over a UK government refusal to fund her legal bid.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live, Sandiford said that by refusing to assist in funding her lawyers, the government’s actions were “tantamount to condoning the death penalty”.

The talk show programme sent 14 questions to Sandiford, originally from Redcar, Teesside, via charity Reprieve, but she chose to answer just two.

When asked if she thought the British government was doing enough to help her case, she said: “The government has done very little to support me. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has done even less.

“However, I have been able to talk about my situation and will continue to do so, because there are others in a similar desperate plight that are not seen.

“There are, and will continue to be, British nationals facing execution without lawyers, and because they cannot raise their voices the government is standing by, refusing to assist with funding of lawyers for them.

“This action is tantamount to condoning the death penalty.

“The government and FCO are doing all they can to resist me at this difficult time.”

She expressed gratitude to those who have made donations and sent messages of support.