Brit Laura Plummer set to be freed from Egypt jail 'within hours' after being pardoned by president

Laura Plummer has been pardoned by Egypt's president and could be free within hours
Hatty Collier26 January 2018

A British holidaymaker jailed in Egypt could be freed to return home with hours after she was formally pardoned by the country's president.

Laura Plummer, 33, was sentenced to three years in prison in December for taking 290 Tramadol tablets into the African country in her suitcase.

She was will be saved from serving the rest of her sentence after being pardoned by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The president issued the pardon to prisoner as part of Egypt's Revolution Day celebrations.

Ms Plummer's sister Jayne Synclair said: "We can't believe it's over. We've prayed for this day since she was arrested. We just want to get her home."The shop worker was arrested at the airport on October 9 last year when she flew into the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

She was handed her jail sentence by judges on Boxing Day, nearly three months after she was found to be carrying the Tramadol tablets in her suitcase, a painkiller which is legal in the UK but banned in Egypt.

The court was told she was taking the tablets for her Egyptian partner Omar Caboo, who suffers from severe back pain, and had no idea what she was doing was wrong.

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We continue to provide assistance to Laura and her family, and our embassy remains in regular contact with the Egyptian authorities."

This story is being updated

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