British Tourist Who Brought Husband’s Painkillers To Egypt Could Face Death Penalty

British tourist Laura Plummer remained behind bars in Egypt after flying into the country in October with painkillers for her husband’s sore back. The 33-year-old could face the death penalty or 25 years in prison for carrying the pills, according to HuffPost.

Plummer had some 300 painkiller tablets in her suitcase when she flew into Egypt Oct. 9. She was arrested at the airport and made to sign 38-pages of documents written in Arabic which she believed would facilitate her release, according to her family. Instead of being released, she was then put behind bars, they said.

Plummer was on her way to visit her husband in Egypt for a “routine holiday.” She was given the pills by a colleague after telling them of her husband’s pain, her brother told reporters. The pills were placed at the top of her suitcase, her family said. The use of tramadol is restricted in Egypt, despite its international reputation as a common painkiller, HuffPost reported.

“So she took those over with her,” said her brother, James Plummer, according to the Guardian. “Laura didn’t even check what they were. She didn’t even know there was tramadol in the bag. There was also naproxen as well.”

Plummer has remained inside a tiny cell with 25 other women since her arrest almost a month ago, the Guardian reported. The Foreign Office, as well as the British embassy in Cairo, were involved in her legal battle. A representative from the embassy has been visiting her regularly where she was being held and was communicating with her family.

“The family describe Laura to me as someone who is very naive,” said local MP Karl Turner, according to the Guardian. “Her father said to me, ‘Look, the truth is she wouldn’t know tramadol from a Panadol. She wouldn’t have a clue that she was doing something unlawful.’”

Plummer was set to appear in court Thursday for her third hearing. Her brother described her as a zombie after his mother and sisters returned from a trip to visit her and described her condition.

“I don’t think she’s tough enough to survive it,” he said. “She has a phobia of using anybody else’s toilet, so let alone sharing a toilet and a floor with everybody else. That will be awful for her; it’ll be traumatizing.”