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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/11/husband-of-uk-woman-laura-plummer-held-in-egypt-has-evidence-to-prove-her-innocence
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| Husband of UK woman held in Egypt 'has evidence to prove her innocence' | Husband of UK woman held in Egypt 'has evidence to prove her innocence' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The husband of a British woman being held in Egypt on drug smuggling charges has reportedly produced evidence he believes could lead to her release. | The husband of a British woman being held in Egypt on drug smuggling charges has reportedly produced evidence he believes could lead to her release. |
| Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, had been due to appear in court on Saturday before the delay was revealed. She was arrested at Hurghada airport on 9 October after 29 strips of the painkillers tramadol and naproxen were found in her suitcase. | Laura Plummer, 33, from Hull, had been due to appear in court on Saturday before the delay was revealed. She was arrested at Hurghada airport on 9 October after 29 strips of the painkillers tramadol and naproxen were found in her suitcase. |
| Tramadol, an opioid, is a controlled substance in Egypt, and Plummer faces a long prison sentence if convicted of smuggling the drugs. Plummer said she had no idea of the legal issues surrounding the painkillers, which she brought over for her Egyptian husband’s bad back. | Tramadol, an opioid, is a controlled substance in Egypt, and Plummer faces a long prison sentence if convicted of smuggling the drugs. Plummer said she had no idea of the legal issues surrounding the painkillers, which she brought over for her Egyptian husband’s bad back. |
| “I didn’t even look in the bag. I can’t tell you how stupid I feel,” she told the BBC in a phone call from her 15ft by 15ft cell in which she said 25 other women were also being held. | |
| A judge in Hurghada, a resort town on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, will decide whether to extend Plummer’s detention or free her on bail. The hearing could take place on Sunday. | A judge in Hurghada, a resort town on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, will decide whether to extend Plummer’s detention or free her on bail. The hearing could take place on Sunday. |
| Her husband, Omar Caboo, 34, showed the Sun evidence that he said supported her claim to have brought the drugs into Egypt for his back problems. | |
| Among the documents are X-rays, medical records and a marriage certificate. The couple reportedly met four years ago. “Hopefully now her nightmare will come to an end,” Caboo said. “These papers will prove she was telling the truth.” | Among the documents are X-rays, medical records and a marriage certificate. The couple reportedly met four years ago. “Hopefully now her nightmare will come to an end,” Caboo said. “These papers will prove she was telling the truth.” |
| Her brother, James Plummer, previously had said her family had been told she could face up to 25 years in jail, with one lawyer even mentioning the death penalty. | |
| “It’s just blown out of proportion completely,” he said. “She’s so by the book, so routine, she just likes her own home comforts, watches Emmerdale every night or things like that, going to bed at nine o’clock every night.” | “It’s just blown out of proportion completely,” he said. “She’s so by the book, so routine, she just likes her own home comforts, watches Emmerdale every night or things like that, going to bed at nine o’clock every night.” |
| He said his sister just thought she was doing a “good deed” by bringing the medication over to her husband, which she had been given by a colleague in Hull whom she had told about her husband’s back pain. | He said his sister just thought she was doing a “good deed” by bringing the medication over to her husband, which she had been given by a colleague in Hull whom she had told about her husband’s back pain. |
| Tramadol is the most abused drug in Egypt, according to a government minister. The synthetic opioid is only available on prescription but is often obtained illegally and used as a heroin substitute, as it is elsewhere in the world. | Tramadol is the most abused drug in Egypt, according to a government minister. The synthetic opioid is only available on prescription but is often obtained illegally and used as a heroin substitute, as it is elsewhere in the world. |
| A Foreign Office spokeswoman said its officials were “supporting a British woman and her family following her detention in Egypt”. | A Foreign Office spokeswoman said its officials were “supporting a British woman and her family following her detention in Egypt”. |