Two British nationals convicted of drug offences in Indonesia, including death row prisoner Lindsay Sandiford, have been repatriated to the United Kingdom under a bilateral agreement reached on humanitarian grounds.
Sandiford, 69, was sentenced to death in 2013 after being found guilty of trafficking cocaine into Bali. She was transferred alongside Shahab Shahabadi, 36, who had been serving a life sentence for drug offences following his arrest in 2014. Both departed Bali on Friday aboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for London via Doha, Indonesian officials confirmed.
The pair were formally handed over to British authorities at a ceremony held at Kerobokan prison the previous day. Sandiford, who has spent more than a decade on death row, concealed her face during the proceedings. I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, an official from Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said their detention would now be transferred to the United Kingdom. “For Lindsay and Shahab, after we hand them over to the United Kingdom government, they are fully responsible for the legal decision that will be given there but still respecting our legal decision,” he told reporters.
Sandiford was arrested in 2012 when Indonesian customs officers discovered cocaine valued at approximately $2.14 million concealed in a false compartment of her suitcase. She admitted to the offence but claimed she had been coerced into transporting the drugs after a trafficking syndicate threatened her son. Despite appeals for clemency, she remained on death row for more than a decade.
Shahabadi, meanwhile, was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in drug trafficking. Both prisoners were included in a transfer agreement signed last month between Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, and Britain’s foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper.
The decision to repatriate the two convicts was taken in light of their deteriorating health. Yusril confirmed last month that Sandiford was “seriously ill”, while Shahabadi was suffering from “various serious illnesses, including mental health issues”.
Matthew Downing, Britain’s deputy ambassador to Indonesia, said the transfer was arranged on humanitarian grounds. “When they first arrive in the UK, the priority will be about their health,” he explained. “So they’ll be going through a health assessment, and any treatment and rehabilitation that they need.” He added that the two would be subject to British law and procedures upon their return.
Indonesia enforces some of the strictest drug laws in the world, with trafficking offences carrying the death penalty. According to rights group KontraS, nearly 600 inmates were on death row in the country as of August, including around 90 foreign nationals.
The last executions were carried out in 2016, when one Indonesian citizen and three Nigerian convicts were executed by firing squad. Since then, the government has refrained from implementing the death penalty, though it remains on the statute books.
President Prabowo Subianto’s administration has in recent months overseen the repatriation of several high-profile foreign prisoners. Among them were the final five members of the so-called “Bali Nine” drug ring, who were returned to Australia earlier this year.
The precise legal status of Sandiford and Shahabadi in Britain remains to be determined. While Indonesian authorities have emphasised that their convictions remain valid, responsibility for their detention and any further legal decisions now rests with the UK government.
The transfer marks a rare instance of Indonesia agreeing to repatriate prisoners convicted of serious drug offences. It reflects a broader shift in policy under the current administration, which has sought to balance the country’s uncompromising stance on narcotics with humanitarian considerations in cases involving foreign nationals.
For Sandiford, who has spent more than a decade facing the prospect of execution, the move represents a significant change in circumstances. For both prisoners, the immediate focus will be on medical treatment and rehabilitation as they begin the next stage of their sentences under British jurisdiction.
