UK and Indonesia Finalize Agreement to Repatriate Drug Offenders

A significant agreement has been reached between the United Kingdom and Indonesia, allowing for the repatriation of two British nationals involved in drug-related offenses. The deal, finalized on March 5, 2024, ensures that Lindsay Sandiford, 68, will avoid the death penalty for drug smuggling and return to the UK, along with another British citizen, Shahab Shahabadi, who is serving a life sentence.

Lindsay Sandiford has been incarcerated in Bali since her arrest in 2012. Authorities discovered 3.8 kilograms (approximately 8.4 pounds) of cocaine, valued at around $2.5 million, concealed in the lining of her suitcase at the airport. During her trial, she claimed that a gang coerced her into transporting the drugs by threatening her children. Indonesia’s highest court confirmed her death sentence in 2013, which raised significant international concern.

Shahabadi, 35, has been imprisoned since 2014 after being apprehended in Jakarta. Prosecutors reported that he had previously shipped 30 kilograms (about 66 pounds) of methamphetamine from Iran to Indonesia, where it was intended for distribution.

During the signing of the repatriation agreement, Yvette Cooper, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, highlighted Sandiford’s deteriorating health. “Both of them are facing problems. The first one is ill and has been examined by a doctor from the British Consulate in Bali. She is seriously ill and is 68 years old,” Cooper stated. The agreement was signed with Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s Senior Minister of Law.

The repatriation process will commence once both nations finalize the necessary technical and administrative arrangements. This agreement reflects Indonesia’s ongoing efforts under President Prabowo Subianto to negotiate bilateral arrangements for the transfer of foreign prisoners. Past agreements have included the return of a Filipina facing execution for drug offenses and five Australians convicted of heroin trafficking.

Despite maintaining some of the world’s strictest drug laws, Indonesia remains a significant hub for drug trafficking, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The country is particularly vulnerable due to international drug syndicates targeting its young population. Recent data from the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections indicated that approximately 530 individuals are currently on death row in Indonesia, the majority for drug-related crimes, with nearly 100 foreigners among them.

Indonesia’s last executions occurred in July 2016, when a citizen and three foreign nationals were put to death. The repatriation of Sandiford and Shahabadi marks a potential shift in the country’s approach to foreign prisoners, reflecting broader diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the UK.