Prison turns mother away

GEORGE NEWS - A gift of two books, a Bible and a phone call from the prison waiting area.

These were the only privileges granted by the Thai prison authorities to Ashley Oosthuizen (23), when her mother, Lynn Blignault, travelled halfway across the world to visit her daughter in the Nakhon Si Thammarat Central Prison in Thailand.

Oosthuizen, a former Outeniqua High learner, is serving a life sentence after she was found guilty of drug dealing in 2021.

"I managed to sort out some practical things while there, but due to the Covid restrictions at that stage [April/May] it was impossible to see her," says Blignaut, who lives in George.

However, Blignaut says her daughter is doing well, although a royal pardon seems to be off the cards for now. A royal pardon is an official order given by a king or queen to stop the punishment of a person accused of a crime.

"She's healthy and she remains positive, but it seems she won't qualify for a pardon anytime soon," says Blignaut. "We have tried everything we can for now. Firstly she has to plead guilty and then spend a minimum of four years in prison. After that she can apply every year to be considered for the pardon. I'm speaking to her on Wednesday morning [6 July]."

Ashley told her mother she refuses to plead guilty as she is 100% innocent.

"In God's time she will come home, no matter what. In the meantime she has learnt to speak and write fluent Thai and she is also giving cha-cha lessons in prison," says Blignaut.

Bad match
Oosthuizen left for Thailand when she was 19 and met her then boyfriend, Tristan Nettles, while she was working as a teacher. When she was laid off due to a dispute about her qualifications, Nettles offered her a position at a restaurant called Hot in the Biscuit. She was arrested for drug dealing after she accepted a package containing ecstasy from a delivery man at the restaurant in October 2020 - allegedly on behalf of someone else.

Oosthuizen maintains she was unaware of the contents of the package and in a statement, Nettles admitted to using the restaurant for regular drug deals without his girlfriend's knowledge. But Nettles, a self-confessed dark web drug dealer with a history of criminal convictions, was never prosecuted as he left Thailand before Oosthuizen's arrest.

Oosthuizen was found guilty, and initially told she would be sentenced to death. Fortunately, on sentencing, the court decided on life imprisonment (25 years).

George Herald has repeatedly reached out to various Thai authorities for comment and to verify information received via email and social media, but to no avail.

According to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), nearly 800 South Africans find themselves in foreign prisons.

Of these, more than 70% are behind bars because of drug-related offences.

Ashley's mother, Lynn Blignault