British woman jailed in Egypt is 'on the verge of a breakdown', family says
A British woman jailed for three years in Egypt for smuggling drugs is on the verge of a breakdown after being sent to a prison "full of jihadi terrorists", her family has said. Shop worker Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was arrested in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada after she was found to be carrying 290 Tramadol tablets in her suitcase, a painkiller which is legal in the UK but which is banned in Egypt. Ms Plummer's family said she was taking the tablets for her Egyptian partner, who suffers from severe back pain and had no idea what she was doing was wrong. Her sister, Jayne Synclair, said she feared she would not survive three years in prison. "Laura isn't the strongest of people, she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown, covered in scabs. "She's been bitten from head to foot in mosquito bites and she's like a ghost. "Her skin is translucent and the muscles in her legs don't work - they're like jelly." Shop worker Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, was arrested in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada after she was found to be carrying 290 Tramadol tablets in her suitcase Mrs Synclair, 40, said Ms Plummer had unexpectedly been sent to the infamous Qena prison north of Luxor. It houses some of the most dangerous inmates in the country, including Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and Muslim Brotherhood members. "They have slyly taken her to where the British Foreign Office told us she would never be placed - but the Egyptian authorities have already moved her there," she said. "Our biggest fear with this scenario has been confirmed - she will be sharing a tiny cell with jihadi terrorists and rapists. "'I honestly dread to think. Laura won't survive a day in there - let alone three years. She won't even make it through that - I can't believe they've even still sent her there." According to the family, Ms Plummer was also fined £4,500. They said her father had already paid out £25,000 to defend his daughter. The Plummer family has previously said Ms Plummer had no idea that what she doing was illegal and was just "daft". They said she did not try to hide the medicine, which she had been given by a friend, and she thought it was a joke when she was pulled over by officials after arriving for a holiday with her partner. Omar Abdel Azim, Ms Plummer's partner Mohammed Othman, Ms Plummer's lawyer, said he was optimistic she would not serve the full sentence. "The sentence is lenient considering Laura is on trial for smuggling and trading drugs, for which the sentence can be the death penalty or life, in jail," he told the Telegraph. Mr Othman said that he still needs to see the reasoning of the verdict but he anticipated that the judge would acquit if their appeal application was accepted. The family said they were planning an immediate appeal after Ms Plummer mistakenly pleaded guilty at a hearing on Christmas Day, due to a translation error. She fell to the floor and sobbed upon hearing the decision on Tuesday. "We're just hoping. Even half of that would be better. Anything less than three years," Mrs Synclair said. "She doesn't deserve that."
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