2 Britons go on trial on drug charges in Bali
Oct 4, 2012, 10:16 AM
BALI, Indonesia (AP) – Two British citizens have gone on trial for allegedly trafficking cocaine onto Indonesia’s popular resort island of Bali. Both could face the death penalty if found guilty.
Fifty-six-year-old Lindsay Sandiford was arrested in May when customs officers at Bali’s airport discovered 3.8 kilograms (8.4 pounds) of cocaine worth $2.5 million stuffed into her luggage.
Her suspected accomplice, forty-seven-year-old Julian Anthony Pounder, went on trial separately at the same court Thursday. Both defendants could face firing squads if found guilty.
Sandiford, who was not accompanied by a lawyer, told the court she would challenge the indictment submitted by prosecutors, arguing it was not accurate.
Indonesia has very strict drug laws. More than 140 people are on death row for drug crimes, a third of them foreigners.
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