Brazilian Manuela Farias, now 20, was caught last year with three kilos of cocaine on the Indonesian island of Bali. Like any citizen caught trafficking drugs in what is also the largest Muslim country in the world, Manuela risked the death penalty. But she was lucky. After a complex legal process, the young surfer who made a living selling perfume and lingerie claimed to have been caught by a criminal network and forced to work as a “mule” (drug transporters). Having initially booked a trip to that Indonesian island to practice surfing, Manuela Farias’ defense claimed that she had been forced to traffic.
A year ago, the Indonesian Public Prosecutor’s Office asked that Manuela be sentenced to 11 years in prison and paid 61 thousand euros. The sentence was considered “a miracle” by the Brazilian’s defense since a death sentence – or life imprisonment – is common for drug traffickers.
Manuela Farias is detained in the Kerobokan women’s prison, a detention center in Bali known for its number of foreign prisoners.
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