A British woman jailed for smuggling painkillers into Egypt has been seen for the first time since her arrest in video footage filmed inside the notorious prison she is being held in.
Laura Plummer is seen in the minute-long clip sitting in the front row of a church during Easter mass inside Cairo’s Al Qanater prison, The Sun reports.
It’s the first time the shop worker, from Hull, has been pictured since her arrest on October 9 last year after she arrived at the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, about 300 miles south east of Cairo.
The 34-year-old looks drastically different with lighter hair, as her devastated sister Jayne Synclair said she no longer bears any resemblance to who she used to be.
Laura Plummer is seen sitting in the front row of a church during Easter mass inside Cairo’s Al Qanater prison
It’s the first time the shop worker, from Hull, has been pictured since her arrest on October 9
Ms Plummer looks drastically different with lighter hair, as her devastated sister Jayne Synclair said she no longer bears any resemblance to who she used to be
In the clip, the camera pans around the church to show other inmates taking Holy Communion before showing a sad-looking Ms Plummer in the front row.
Ms Plummer is dressed in a white prison-issue jilbab, chandelier earrings and appears to be wearing white nail polish.
She sits solemnly with the other women, resting her hands in her lap. Towards the end of the video, she smiles and laughs to someone off camera.
The Foreign Office is aware of the footage, according to The Sun.
A source told the newspaper: ‘This is Egypt’s way of parading her before the world.
‘They want it known that she is still in custody, but being well looked after.’
The source claimed she was intentionally put on the front row by officials for that purpose.
Ms Synclair added: ‘We’ve obviously been out to see her regularly but she isn’t the same woman who left for a two week holiday in the sun’
Her family have maintained that she was taking the painkiller – which is legal in the UK but banned in Egypt – for her partner Omar Saad (left), who suffers from back pain
Ms Plummer’s devastated sister Jayne Synclair said her sister no longer bears any resemblance to who she used to be.
‘We’ve obviously been out to see her regularly but she isn’t the same woman who left for a two week holiday in the sun,’ she said.
Ms Plummer was sentenced to three years in prison for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the country.
Tramadol is described as ‘a narcotic-like pain reliever’ and shares similar side effects to more harmful drugs including Class A heroin.
Speaking to the Mail after Ms Plummer was jailed, her boyfriend, Mr Saad, said he felt responsible for her plight
When used over a long period of time it can be highly addictive causing mental and physical dependence.
Ms Plummer’s family have maintained that she was taking the painkiller – which is legal in the UK but banned in Egypt – for her partner Omar Saad and didn’t know that what she was doing was illegal.
The couple had an Orfi marriage two years ago, which is not registered with the state but allows them to share a hotel room.
Mr Saad has said the pills were because he suffers from a bad back following a car crash.
Speaking to the Mail after Ms Plummer was jailed, her boyfriend, Mr Saad, said he felt responsible for her plight.
He told the Mail: ‘My heart is absolutely broken – I’m missing her so much.
‘I did not want her to violate her life and I had no idea she would bring Tramadol – I would have told her ”don’t bring it to Egypt”.’
Ms Plummer was originally charged with smuggling, but was later jailed in December for possession instead.
In February, an Egyptian official claimed she wasn’t in a hell-hole prison as some reports suggested, and was receiving excellent care.
Her family have maintained that she was taking the painkiller – which is legal in the UK but banned in Egypt – for her partner Omar. Pictured from left, Ms Plummer’s mother Roberta and sisters Rachel and Jayne
Ms Plummer’s (far left) family hit back and revealed their anger at being given ‘false hope’ after her pardon was withdrawn in January
Following her arrest last October, Ms Plummer was taken to a Hurghada police cell before being taken to the notorious Qena prison after being sentenced.
But it was decided there was no room for her and she spent a week back in Hurghada before being sent to a prison in Cairo where conditions were reportedly better.
Ashraf Ezz al-Arab, a director of the prison investigations department at the interior ministry, told Egypt Independent that Ms Plummer has ‘received excellent social and medical care in prison, as do all foreign inmates and Egyptians alike’.
He added that her family visits her in accordance to the prison regulations.
Ms Plummer was previously told she would be freed from her cell after her name appeared on a presidential pardon list due to be signed off by Abdul Fattah el-Sisi.
But the British Embassy in Cairo allegedly told her family that there had been a ‘mistake’.
Ms Plummer’s family hit back and revealed their anger at being given ‘false hope’ after her pardon was withdrawn in January.
Al-Qanatir prison, on the outskirts of Cairo in Egypt, where Miss Plummer has been held. A senior prison official previously insisted she receives ‘excellent’ treatment
The prison was in a bad state of disrepair and the cells only have a small window giving contact with the outside world
How did Laura Plummer end up in an Egyptian jail?
October 9, 2017: Laura Plummer is arrested at Egyptian airport after she is found in possession of 290 banned painkillers
October 10: She sends desperate text to her father saying ‘Dad, please answer your phone, I am in trouble’
November 4: Her family visit her from the UK for the first time in an Egyptian holding cell
November 21: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson attempts to intervene in the case but Ms Plummer’s lawyer says it is pointless
December 26: Ms Plummer is jailed for three years following a trial in an Egyptian courthouse
January 9, 2018: She is moved to a crowded Cairo prison, where conditions are said to be ‘horrendous’
January 10: Humberside Police back in England reveal a review into how Ms Plummer obtained the painkillers
January 26: Foreign Office sources reveal plans to give Ms Plummer a presidential pardon
January 29: The pardon is inexplicably withdrawn, with the Foreign Office claiming ‘a mistake’ was made
Ms Sinclair said the family have had no contact with Laura but have had an update from Omar which gave them small comfort. Pictured: Laura (right) with her two sisters