One of the reasons I love being a part of the Afrospear is that I get a chance to interact and get information from some very talented bloggers. The latest comes from my man Rock over at African American Political Pundit.
Thanks Rock, for turning me on to this story. If bloggers of color don't bring these stories to the main stream's attention they won't get told.
But I digress; here is the story from Rock's blog:
"Hat Tip to Aulelia at the Afrospear Think Tank, for the link to this story about the Pregnant Black Woman who may be executed in Laos. Also a big Hat Tip to Thomas Bell, of the telegraph.co.uk, South East Asia Correspondent for reporting this story. I scanned Samantha Orobator's name on Google and found only 2,000 entries, the BBC is covering the story, as is many foriegn news outlets, including the Bangkok Post. Yet there is very little attention in the U.S. Press other than USAToday.
There are only a few bloggers reporting in the situation including the Afrospear Think Tank, Madness of the World, and folks like David T. Breaker who writes:"We pay Laos 35 Million and let them shoot British tourists."
AAPP says: Get this, Samantha Orobator fell pregnant four months after being taken into prison. Is there any question this pretty black woman was raped? I wonder if Samantha Orobator was blonde and blue eyed, if media in the U.S. would cover this story big time? What do you think?
According to the telegraph.co.uk, Miss Orobator, 20, from London was arrested last August at Wattay airport in the south east Asian country.
Prosecutors claim she had 680 grams (1.3lb or 21 oz) of heroin in her luggage.
According to the legal campaign group Reprieve she has not met a lawyer since she was arrested 9 months ago but it is believed that she denies the drugs were hers.
Under Lao law the death penalty is mandatory for possession of over 500 grams of heroin. At least 39 people have been sentenced to death for a variety of offences since 2003.
On Thursday, without warning or explanation, the government of Laos rescheduled Miss Orobator's trial for next week, but they have still not announced which day the case will begin. "
More here.
One of the beautiful things about the A-murder-can judicial system is that you are always presumed innocent, and it is up to the state to prove your guilt. Unfortunately, in many other countries, it's the other way around. From all reports this woman has been sitting in jail for nine months without being able to see a lawyer. That, my friends, is a travesty.
I honestly don't know if this woman is guilty or not. I don't know if she was a drug mule, as some stories would suggest, or if she was just an innocent tourist. What I do know is that her story is getting zero publicity here in A-murder-ca, and as a result, it is hard for us to form an opinion of her, one way or the other.
