Jennifer Fleetwood, a criminologist at the University of London, was part of Sandiford’s appeal team in the initial case 12 years ago. She said it was good that the grandmother would be returning to the UK.
She said: “To undertake a prison sentence with the threat of execution, I can’t fathom how difficult that would be.
“Having spent time doing research in prisons overseas, I know that it’s really, really hard for people to serve a sentence abroad.
“They have huge distance from family for their significant language difficulties.
“But on top of that, often we see human rights abuses in prison, lack of access to health care.
“And as someone who is ageing with health needs, that’s a really, really tough punishment to serve. 12 years is a long, long time.”
