Worrying health update issued about British grandma freed after 12 years on Indonesian death row

Lindsay Sandiford, the British grandma who spent 12 years awaiting execution on an Indonesian death row, was recently freed thanks to an agreement between the two countries' governments.

The Redcar woman had been arrested in Bali on 19 May 2012, with a significant amount of cocaine found in her luggage.

She claimed she had been forced to carry the drugs by a criminal gang that had threatened her sons but her appeals were dismissed, and on 22 January 2013, she was sentenced to death by firing squad.

Sandiford, 69, was sent to Kerobokan Prison to await her execution, but after a dozen years on death row, the agreement between the UK and Indonesian governments secured her release.

Speaking for the first time since being freed, she said she was getting a 'second chance' at life and was looking forward to returning to her family.

A concerning health update has warned that she is 'seriously ill' ahead of her return to the UK (SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images)

'Old and sick'

However, the Metro reports a concerning health update in her case, as they say that Indonesian minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has described Sandiford as 'seriously ill'.

They said she was being examined by a doctor sent from the British consulate, and the woman was described as being 'old and sick'.

Under the terms of the repatriation agreement, she is supposed to be going home to the UK 'in about two weeks' so this illness is an unfortunate development for her.

Also released as part of the agreement to repatriate Sandiford is fellow British citizen Shahab Shahabadi, 35, who was serving a life sentence in Indonesia.

Shahabadi was described as 'suffering from several serious health issues' and 'particularly mental health disorders'.

Lindsay Sandiford, pictured in 2013, spent 12 years on death row in Indonesia (SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP via Getty Images)

'I’ve done a terrible thing'

Sandiford had previously said during her time in prison that 'dying doesn't bother me' and that if she was going to be executed, then she'd rather they 'get on with it'.

During her time on death row, she had said: "What I am uncomfortable about is the public humiliation.

"You’re dragged halfway around the country and paraded in front of the press before being executed and that will be the worst thing for me.

"I’ve done a terrible thing, I know, but the worst thing is the ritual public humiliation they seem to enjoy."

Other inmates at Kerobokan Prison said that she had been struggling with life in prison and 'spends all day pretty much alone in her cell', according to fellow inmate Heather Mack.

In 2015, Sandiford had said she thought her time in prison was nearly up as she believed her 'execution is imminent' and thought she could be taken from her cell at any time.