Skift Take

Sandiford's case is an odd one in which she admits to doing everything wrong that a tourist could do wrong, like taking a package from a stranger and not looking inside. Her last hope is if Bali authorities commute the sentence.

An Indonesian court has sentenced a British woman to death for smuggling cocaine worth $2.5 million into the resort island of Bali.

Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, was found guilty Tuesday by the Denpasar District Court of violating the country’s extremely strict drug laws.

In its verdict, a judge panel headed by Amser Simanjuntak concluded that Sandiford has damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government’s program of drug annihilation.

Earlier, state prosecutors just sought a 15-year prison sentence for Sandiford, who was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali’s airport discovered 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine in her luggage.

Indonesia has extremely strict drug laws and convicted smugglers are often executed.

Copyright (2013) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Tags: bali, narcotics, tourism

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