British Woman Sentenced To Life In Pakistan Prison For Drug Smuggling

Khadija Shah, who claims she was unknowingly used as a drug mule, will appeal her life-sentence…

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by Sophie Wilkinson |
Published on

A British woman has been jailed for life by Pakistani authorities after being found guilty of smuggling 139lbs (63kg) of heroin out of the country.

Khadija Shah, 26, was also ordered to pay a fine of 300,000 rupees (£1,800). Khadija, who was six months' pregnant when she was arrested at Islamabad airport, later gave birth to a girl, Malaika, while in custody. Her other two children, a five-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter, have returned to Britain.

Her lawyer is now mounting an appeal, saying that Khadija was unaware of the drugs in her luggage when she was arrested in Islamabad airport in September 2012. With a UK street value of £3.2m, however, she could have faced the death penalty; but there has been an ‘unofficial moratorium’ on executions in the country since 2008, according to the BBC.

‘This is a terrible outcome for Khadija and her baby Malaika,’ said Maya Foa of legal charity Reprieve. ‘As happens in hundreds of cases, she was used as a drugs mule without her knowledge, and yet is facing life in a Pakistani prison.’

The British High Commission is offering consular support to Shah and her family, according to Sky News.

Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson

Picture: Getty

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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