Samantha Orobator: held in a jail that is said to have an abusive regime.
Concern for a pregnant British woman facing a possible death penalty in Laos grew today despite claims that the country's law forbids the execution of pregnant prisoners.
Samantha Orobator, who is five months pregnant, was arrested at Wattay airport, Vientiane, in August last year, allegedly in possession of 0.6kg (1.3lb) of heroin, but her detention only recently came to light.
A Laotian government spokesman told CNN that pregnant women cannot be sentenced to death in Laos.
A spokeswoman for the legal rights charity Reprieve said Orobator's trial could be put back until she has given birth, leaving the possibility of a death sentence open.
She said: "We are acting on the assumption anything is possible because we have been denied access to Samantha."
Orobator, 20, was allowed to see a British government official today but was refused a visit by Reprieve.
The Foreign Office said the vice-consul from Bangkok had been allowed into Phonthong prison to speak to Orobator ahead of her expected trial this week.
But Anna Morris, a lawyer who has flown to the south-east Asian country on behalf of Reprieve, said she was refused access although she had arranged to meet the Briton.
Reprieve said no explanation had been given by the Laotian authorities as to why the meeting was cancelled. Morris said: "I am deeply frustrated by the lack of access to this vulnerable young woman.
"I also do not have any news of a trial date, despite being told at incredibly short notice that it will take place this week.
"Reprieve is in Vientiane [the Laotian capital] to ensure that Samantha's basic human rights are respected and protected. We urge the Lao authorities to allow us access to speak to Samantha as promised, to appoint her a Laotian lawyer and to conduct a fair and open trial process."
The Foreign Office minister Bill Rammell is due to raise the case with the Laotian deputy prime minister when they meet in the UK on Thursday.
Officials in Laos insisted Orobator will get a fair trial.
Born in Nigeria in 1988, Orobator moved to the UK when she was eight and grew up in Peckham, south London. In July last year she went to the Netherlands for a holiday and from there to Thailand and Laos. The amount of heroin she was allegedly caught with exceeds the statutory minimum for the death penalty. If she receives a jail sentence there is no existing agreement between Laos and the United Kingdom for her to be allowed to serve her sentence in the UK.
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