Pregnant Briton jailed for life in Laos for heroin trafficking

Orobator, the pregnant London woman arrested on drug trafficking charges in Laos last year, was jailed for life today after a brief trial in the capital, Vientiane.

She is likely to be allowed to serve her sentence in the United Kingdom, following the signing of a prisoner transfer treaty by both countries last month.

Orobator, 20, from Peckham, south London, avoided a potential death sentence on the grounds of her pregnancy. The Lao authorities required her to sign a statement before her trial saying that she had not been raped or sexually abused while in custody. Her baby is due in September and she was arrested last August.

A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed the sentence and British consular officials from Bangkok were present in court for the hearing. "We will be in contact with her to discuss her options," said a spokesperson. It is possible that she will be able to fly back to the UK before the end of the month.

Although Orobator has been sentenced to life, she may be eligible for release in the UK after a few years, as it is her first offence and a defence of duress has been advanced.

Orobator was stopped at Wattay international airport just outside the capital and her luggage searched last August. Inside her case, officials found 0.68 kg (1.5lb) of heroin, an amount that brings a charge of trafficking rather than possession under Lao law.

She initially denied that the drugs were hers. She was taken to the Phonthong prison, which human rights groups suggest provides a low standard of care. Attempts by the human rights group Reprieve to have a private meeting with her were rebuffed by the Lao authorities.

Orobator's mother, Jane, who lives in Dublin with three of her other children but has been in Laos for the last two weeks, said her daughter appeared to be in good health. Earlier she said that for her daughter to be involved in drugs trafficking was "totally out of character".

"She is very fragile, just a little thing," she said.

Although there are 85 people on death row in Laos, there