Bali drug trial: British woman gets death sentence

A 56-year-old British woman has been sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking.

Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May after Bali police, carrying out a routine customs check, found 4.8kg (10.6lb) of cocaine in the lining of her suitcase.

Sandiford, from Gloucestershire, has insisted she was set up and coerced into bringing the drugs to the island.

She was held after a flight from Bangkok, Thailand.

Prosecutors had recommended a 15-year sentence of imprisonment,

But the judges said there were no mitigating circumstances and the defendant did not appear to care about the consequences of her actions.

They said Sandiford has damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government's anti-drugs programme.

Indonesia has some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world, but BBC correspondents say executions are rarely carried out.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We can confirm that a British national is facing the death penalty in Indonesia. We remain in close contact with that national and continue to provide consular assistance.

"The UK remains strongly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances."