A 69-year-old grandmother, Lindsay Sandiford, has returned to the UK after serving 12 years on death row in Bali for smuggling £1.6 million worth of cocaine. Sandiford, who confessed to smuggling drugs into Indonesia in 2012, claimed she was coerced by a drug syndicate threatening her family. After a long legal battle, she was released on humanitarian grounds last month.

Upon landing at London Heathrow Airport following a 20-hour flight, Sandiford, who was escorted back on a government-funded ticket, expressed her eagerness to reunite with her family and receive urgent medical care. Doctors have assessed her as being very ill due to the harsh conditions she endured during her imprisonment in one of Bali’s notorious prisons.

Pastor Christine Buckingham, who visited Sandiford in Kerobokan jail, emphasized the importance of her prompt medical evaluation upon returning home and spending quality time with her family. Sandiford, who appeared in a wheelchair as she left Bali, shielded her face from photographers en route to Denpasar International Airport for her journey back to the UK on a Qatar Airways flight.

Reports suggest that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper personally appealed to Indonesian authorities for Sandiford’s release. However, Indonesian officials stated that upon her return to the UK, she may face further incarceration, although the specifics remain undisclosed by the Foreign Office. Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Immigration and Correctional Coordination, I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, mentioned that Sandiford is expected to stay in prison upon reaching England.