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Fair trials group helping British woman jailed in Dominican Republic

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

LONDON, England: A leading specialist in securing justice for British citizens imprisoned overseas was due to fly to the Caribbean Monday to meet a British woman jailed in the Dominican Republic.

The moves comes as 28-year-old Marianne Telfer, who is in custody in a prison known as "The Fortress", has revealed in a letter to the East Anglian Daily Times how she is becoming more depressed each day she is held.

Stephen Jakobi, director of British charity Fair Trials Abroad, is making the trip with Roger Telfer, Ms Telfer’s father.

They will be accompanied by a Cambridge lawyer, Sarah de Mas, who specialises in cases such as Marianne's.

Marianne was arrested after her boyfriend Richard Flack, 34, collapsed and died after condoms filled with cocaine burst inside his stomach.

The pair were on holiday together when Mr Flack died. Ms Telfer has so far spent eight weeks in prison.

Ms Telfer, who insists she is innocent of drug trafficking, faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted. She insists she did not know Mr Flack had swallowed drugs in an attempt to smuggle them back to the UK, and that she has become caught up in something she knew nothing about.

Mr Jakobi said he hopes to speak to Ministry of Justice officials and British embassy and consulate staff to see what can be done to sort out the situation during his week-long visit.

Although Mr Jakobi said he could not predict how long the case would take, he said: "This is a simple case. There's not much evidence to find. The evidence is against her (Ms Telfer's) travelling companion, there's nothing against her.

"I would expect the process to go quickly, with the hearing by the end of May at the latest."

However, Mr Jakobi's previous involvement with the Dominican Republic was a case involving two legitimate Dutch jewellers who were accused of money laundering. They were in jail for two years and are still awaiting trial.

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