Pregnant Woman may Face Firing Squard

The British Foreign ministry is scrambling to send lawyers to a pregnant Briton after learning she may face a firing squad if found guilty in a Laotian court.

Samantha Orobator, a 20 year old woman, was arrested in Wattay Airport in Laos' capital, Vientiane after being caught with 680 grams of Heroin on her. She reportedly denies the drugs were hers. While the arrest was in 2008, the British are claiming the trial has been pushed forward quickly in order to keep her from obtaining any legal defense. By Laotian law, the death penalty is mandatory for any possession above 500 grams. If guilty, Orobator would be the 40th in the country to be executed. After the British learned about her predicament, months had already passed. When the wheels started to turn for arranging a lawyer, the Laotian government quickly responded by moving the trial forward. Working against her is the fact that the closest British embassy is not even in the country. Instead, it is located in Thailand. While they have managed to see her six times, the Australian embassy has had more success, meeting with her 10 times. Orobator became pregnant while in prison, four months after her arrest. Rape is highly suspect, especially since she's supposedly in an all-female prison. While the foreign minister Bill Rammell has said we was visiting the Laotian deputy prime minister on Thursday, a legal aid group named Reprieve has stated that the trial will be over before then. The Laotians have stated the trial will be next week, but have not stated which day.