Indonesia to Repatriate Two British Prisoners

Indonesia and Britain have agreed to repatriate Lindsay Sandiford, a grandmother on death row in Bali since her 2013 conviction for trafficking roughly 4.8 kg of cocaine, whom she says she carried after being coerced by a drug syndicate. Senior Indonesian minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the transfers were granted on humanitarian grounds because Sandiford is elderly, seriously ill and had good behaviour in prison. A second British national, 35-year-old Shahab Shahabadi, who is serving a life term and is also reported to have serious health issues, will be returned with her. Officials said practical and technical details of the handover remain to be agreed and the transfer could take around two weeks. The move follows a recent pattern of Jakarta easing enforcement in several high-profile foreign drug cases, and British diplomatic sources have directed queries to Indonesian authorities.