A British woman jailed in Egypt for taking hundreds of painkillers into the country has revealed her devastation after losing an appeal against her sentence.
Laura Plummer, from Hull, was given a three-year sentence on Boxing Day last year after she was found carrying 290 Tramadol tablets in her suitcase.
The 34-year-old had been hoping an appeal would secure her release. But she is now facing Christmas behind bars after judges in Cairo upheld her conviction.
In a letter after the hearing, she said she was ‘devastated’ and accused Britain’s Foreign Office of refusing to intervene on her behalf.
Laura Plummer (pictured left) was sentenced to three years in prison after bringing painkillers into Egypt, which she claimed were to treat the back pain of her husband Omar Caboo (right)
‘I just want to say how devastated I am about the outcome of the appeal,’ she said, according to The Sun.
‘I was sure they would see sense. This whole situation is just ridiculous. I just want to come home.
‘I’ve done nothing wrong and yet our Foreign Office refuses to intervene (on my behalf).’
After losing her appeal, her family said yesterday they will ‘keep fighting for Laura.’
Her parents said in a statement: ‘We’re understandably disappointed with the result of the appeal, but not surprised. We’ve learnt this last year not to expect too much and to prepare for the worst.
‘We were hopeful common sense would prevail this time but it hasn’t. This result, whilst upsetting, only strengthens our resolve to keep fighting for Laura.
‘We are, however, troubled by the fact that nobody saw fit to notify Laura of the appeal result as soon as it was delivered.
‘We broke the distressing news to her 24 hours later in a crowded visiting room full of other prisoners.’
Ms Plummer was seen sitting in the front row of a church during Easter mass inside Cairo’s Al Qanater prison in April
Plummer, who appeared at the court hearing wearing an all-white hijab, had hoped Egypt’s appeal court would accept she had no way of knowing the pills were illegal in the country.
But judges in Cairo upheld her conviction and jail term, despite evidence from the UK Foreign Office backing her version of events.
The shop worker, from Hull, told The Sun: ‘I thought the appeal judges would see sense and realise I couldn’t have known the tablets were banned. It’s just so absurd.
‘I hate it. I hate it so much. I just want to come home. What don’t these people get? I wonder if I’ve died and this is hell.
‘What did I do that was so wrong in my life to end up here?’
The Briton was arrested at the airport on October 9 last year when she flew into the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
The prison where Ms Plummer is kept was in a bad state of disrepair and the cells only have a small window giving contact with the outside world
She claimed she was taking the tablets – which are legal in the UK but banned in Egypt – for her Egyptian partner Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain, and had no idea what she was doing was wrong.
The Foreign Office and Ms Plummer’s tour operator provided evidence in court showing she was unaware the drugs were illegal in Egypt.
Among the arguments submitted were that Egypt’s website listing banned items had not been updated.
But the appeal court ruled ignorance of the law was not a defence and said the original court’s decision was correct.
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