British pregnant woman could face firing squad

The mother of a pregnant British woman who could face the death penalty in Laos pleaded yesterday for her release.

Lawyers and government officials say they are seeking access to Samantha Orobator, 20, who was arrested in Laos last year and could face execution if she is found guilty of drug smuggling.

Britain's vice-consul from the embassy in neighbouring Thailand is scheduled to go today to the prison in Laos where Ms Orobator is being held, a foreign office spokesman said.

"I'm just down on my knees. They should please have mercy," Ms Orobator's mother Jane told Sky television. "No one has been allowed to see her, she has no legal representative."

Ms Orobator, from south London, was arrested at Wattay airport last August and accused of smuggling heroin into Laos, according to information from the foreign office.

British legal charity Reprieve said she was carrying 0.6 kg of the drug, an amount that exceeds the statutory minimum for the death penalty in Laos.

Reprieve says Ms Orobator, who fell pregnant in December while in prison, could face trial next week and, if found guilty, could be executed.

The spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office said officials had not been able to establish when a trial would take place.