A British grandmother sentenced to die for drug smuggling has had a heart-wrenching visit on death row in Bali from the two-year-old granddaughter she has never met.
Lindsay Sandiford’s granddaughter Ayla rushed out to Bali with her parents last week after the 59-year-old’s lawyers were told her name was on a list of ten drug traffickers scheduled to be shot in eight days’ time on September 21.
Mrs Sandiford pleaded with her family to bring Ayla to Bali so she could meet the toddler, who was born seven months after her grandmother’s arrest in May 2012.
Mrs Sandiford pleaded with her family to bring Ayla to Bali so she could meet the toddler, who was born seven months after her grandmother’s arrest in May 2012
Since then, however, Mrs Sandiford’s legal team has been told by Indonesian government officials that there will be a temporary suspension of executions until the end of this year, but that she could still face the firing squad as early as next January. Mrs Sandiford – who has been refused legal funding by the British government – now has only weeks to raise the £25,000 she needs to fund a final appeal against her death penalty.
She told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I know this may be the first and last time I ever hold my granddaughter.’
During several emotional meetings last week, Mrs Sandiford hugged and played with Ayla in a visiting room at Kerobokan prison and was reunited with her 26-year-old son Lewis, Ayla’s father, for the first time since her arrest.
British pastor Dee Stepo, who lives in Australia and runs a fund-raising Facebook page to support Mrs Sandiford’s legal battle, held a blessing service in Bali for the family on Friday as Ayla and her parents made their final prison visit before leaving the island.
Ayla wore a pink and white flower-patterned dress and clutched a Barbie doll as she sat happily on her grandmother’s knee during the moving ceremony attended by The Mail on Sunday along with friends and supporters.
At the end of the ceremony, Mrs Sandiford broke down in tears, hugging and kissing Ayla as the family were ushered out of the visiting area by guards after the specially arranged three-hour gathering.
Earlier this year, Mrs Sandiford insisted she would not let Ayla visit her in prison, saying it would be selfish and adding: ‘It would be better if she doesn’t know me.’
She had a change of heart in early July when she was told by her lawyers that the execution date had been set for September 21 and asked her family to make preparations to fly out to see her, possibly for the last time.
Mrs Sandiford, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was sentenced to death in January 2013 after being caught with a suitcase containing 10.5lb of cocaine after flying to Bali from Bangkok, Thailand
In happier times: Lindsay Sandiford is pictured in a dark blue dress at a concert aged 17
Speaking after her granddaughter left Bali yesterday morning, Mrs Sandiford said: ‘I’m so glad they came. It’s been absolutely fantastic.
On their first visit my son walked into the visiting room and said, “There’s your grandma” and she just put her arms out to me to pick her up. She was nestling up against me and kissing me.
‘I gave her a fairy outfit because she loves Cinderella. She went around to all the prison guards and blew kisses at them and waved her wand and said, “I’m doing magic.” She’s so precious.
‘I’m so glad I had the chance to meet her. Ayla is the most important thing in my life and no one can take this away from me now. She’s an absolute delight – she’s the sweetest baby I’ve ever met.’
Mrs Sandiford said Ayla melted the hearts of the prison officers with her antics and inmates had been astonished to see one notoriously stern female guard beaming as she played games with the toddler.
‘The guard was on her hands and knees with Ayla and she kissed her and gave her a pen with a flower on the top of it,’ Mrs Sandiford said.
‘Usually when people come to see me, they cry over me and I don’t like it. With Ayla it’s been so different. She’s just a little girl who wants to play with her dolls and go down to the beach to build sandcastles.’
In July, Mrs Sandiford was first given a date for her execution when she learnt from her Indonesian lawyers she was listed for September 21 along with nine other convicted drug traffickers, eight of them foreigners
Proud mother: Lindsay Sandiford is pictured above at the age of 34 after the birth of her first son
Mrs Sandiford praised prison staff for allowing Ayla and her parents to make daily visits and for allowing the blessing ceremony. ‘They have been incredibly good to me,’ she said.
In July, Mrs Sandiford was first given a date for her execution when she learnt from her Indonesian lawyers she was listed for September 21 along with nine other convicted drug traffickers, eight of them foreigners.
She faced being transferred from Bali to Nusa Kambangan, known as Execution Island, and given 72 hours’ notice before being taken to a forest clearing and killed by firing squad.
Within weeks, however, Mrs Sandiford’s legal team was told by the attorney general’s office that there was a moratorium and she would not be executed until January at the earliest.
Mrs Sandiford said her family had been deeply distressed by the news of her impending execution and she said of the moratorium: ‘It’s just more torture. I’m just grateful I’ve met Ayla. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact I might not see her again and she might not remember me, but I’m so glad I got to spend time with her. It’s something I will never forget.’
Mrs Sandiford – who has been refused legal funding by the British government – now has only weeks to raise the £25,000 she needs to fund a final appeal against her death penalty
She added: ‘I realise this might be the last time I see my family. That’s why we had the blessing on Friday. We’re not religious but we love each other and we had the blessing so we could say it out loud.’
She insisted she would not let her family return to see her if her execution was confirmed.
Prisoners are allowed to spend much of their last 72 hours with their families before they face the firing squad, but she said: ‘I won’t let them go through that circus. I want them to remember me the way they’ve seen me now.’
Mrs Sandiford, of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was sentenced to death in January 2013 after being caught with a suitcase containing 10.5lb of cocaine after flying to Bali from Bangkok, Thailand.
She claims she was forced to carry the drugs after threats to the life of her younger son and was sentenced to death despite co-operating with police in a sting operation to arrest people higher up the syndicate.
The plot’s alleged ringleader, Briton Julian Ponder – who conducted a behind-bars romance with British Vice-Consul Alys Harahap that led to her sacking – is expected to walk free next year after serving a six-year term with remission.
Another of the men suspected of masterminding the smuggling plot, 43-year-old Paul Beales, of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was sentenced to just four years and is expected to be freed and deported before the end of this year.
Ponder’s former partner Rachel Dougall, also initially suspected to be a senior member of the drugs smuggling syndicate, was released last year after serving just one year on a reduced charge of failing to report a crime.
The British government has repeatedly refused to fund Mrs Sandiford’s legal battle against her death sentence despite a recommendation from five Supreme Court judges in London who said ‘substantial mitigating factors’ had been overlooked in her original trial.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo has ordered the execution of 14 drug traffickers so far this year – including Australian Andrew Chan in May. He was a friend and mentor to Mrs Sandiford in Kerobokan. Widodo insists there will be no clemency for convicted traffickers.
Mrs Sandiford’s final appeal is expected to focus on the recommendation of the prosecutor at her original trial that she should serve a 15-year term, as well as the disparity in sentencing.
It is expected to be held before the end of this year if she succeeds in raising the necessary funds.
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