Stacey Addison, former Portland vet arrested backpacking in Timor-Leste, released from prison

[alp227]

Source: The Oregonian

In what some are calling a "Christmas miracle," a former Portland veterinarian has been released from prison in Timor-Leste after being locked up for nearly two months.

Stacey Addison, 41, was backpacking solo around the world when she got stuck in the young Southeast Asian country once known as East Timor. On Sept. 5, Addison crossed into Timor-Leste to renew her Indonesian visitor visa, according to accounts she posted on Facebook. She caught a shared cab to Dili and, along the way, another passenger asked to pick up a package.

Everyone in the car, including Addison, was arrested when authorities found methamphetamine in the parcel. Addison was released after a few days and then arrested again on Oct. 29, according to her account on Facebook.

The announcement of her release was made in a Facebook post, which states that Addison is still waiting for authorities to return her passport in order to leave.

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2014/12/stacey_addison_former_portland.html

[bemildred]

1. The drug war, protecting you wherever you go. nt

[cosmicone]

5. The draconian drug laws are demanded by the US

or the aid from the US stops. The small countries then go overboard in order to please the master.

[Joanie Baloney]

4. As I understand it...

She was in a taxi with another (unrelated) passenger and he asked to stop and pick up a package. I guess she should have gotten out at that point, but I don't think any of us would have thought what that package would bring.

She will be one happy vet when she comes home!

-JB

[bemildred]

6. You are correct.

Two months in jail, and zippety doo dah to do with her.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. Why do people go hiking in dangerous places?

We have lots of good hiking places here.

I don't get it.

But I'm glad she is free. That would have to have been a horrendous experience.

[bemildred]

8. People go hiking in beautiful places.

Without the drug war, none of this would have happened, the smuggling would not be happening, the cops would not be freaking out, the woman would not be detained just because she was in the vehicle, none of it.

[christx30]

10. North Korea is dangerous without

the drug war. I've read there are beautiful waterfalls there. But I wouldn't go. Anyone that vacations there is asking for trouble.

[bemildred]

11. Yes, yes, Timor L'este, hotbed of crime and repression.

Personally, I'd be a lot more worried in Indonesia.

[bemildred]

9. Oregon woman held in East Timor for months without charges is released (picture)

A US traveler detained for months in East Timor has been released from prison.

Stacey Addison, 41, of Portland, was arrested in September shortly after crossing the border into the southeast Asia nation. The veterinarian was sharing a taxi with a stranger who asked the driver to stop the car so he could pick up a package. Police later stopped the vehicle, determined the package contained methamphetamine, and took everybody to the station.

Addison was released from jail after a few days, but she was ordered to remain in East Timor during the investigation. Then, in October, a prosecutor persuaded a court to rescind Addison’s conditional release and she was taken to a women’s prison, despite not being charged with a crime.

“I am overjoyed to learn of Dr. Stacey Addison’s release from prison,” said US Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who has been working to secure Addison’s release. “This is wonderful Christmas news.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/26/stacey-addison-detained-east-timor-released