( CNN ) -- A pregnant British woman jailed in Laos was denied access to a British lawyer who flew out to meet her , a human rights group said Tuesday . Samantha Orobator became pregnant in prison , according to a spokeswoman for rights group Reprieve . Samantha Orobator , 20 , had been facing possible execution by firing squad after she was arrested in August for allegedly carrying about half a kilogram of heroin . Those found guilty of carrying that amount normally face the death penalty , said the lawyer , Anna Morris of Reprieve , a London-based human rights group . But Orobator will escape the death sentence because she is pregnant , a spokesman for the Laotian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday . The country 's criminal law prohibits courts from sentencing pregnant women to death , spokesman Khenthong Nuanthasing told CNN . The woman 's trial has n't been scheduled yet , he said , but is likely to happen next week . Morris went to Laos on Sunday , having been assured she would be able to meet Orobator , Reprieve said . But so far , she has been refused permission , the group said . Watch a report on the case » . `` Ms. Morris was refused her first visit yesterday , and I am led to understand that the Laotians are now saying that she will not be permitted to visit . This is totally unacceptable , '' Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said in an open letter to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband . Orobator has not seen a lawyer since she was arrested August 5 , allegedly with just over half a kilogram ( about a pound ) of heroin , according to Reprieve . That amount of heroin would sell for $ 80,000 to $ 150,000 on the streets of New York , the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said . London 's Metropolitan Police declined to estimate a street value . Watch a former Laos prison inmate recount jail conditions » . Reprieve has said that Orobator became pregnant in prison , possibly as a result of rape , and that she is due to give birth in September . That would mean Orobator became pregnant in January . Khenthong agreed that Orobator is five months pregnant . But he indicated that Orobator might have already been pregnant when she was arrested , and that she lost the first baby while in prison . He said Orobator declared on the day of her arrest in August that she was two months pregnant by her boyfriend . After she had already been in jail for some time , he said , Orobator asked for medication to cure a vaginal infection , and he believes it caused her to lose the child . Khenthong said officials are investigating Orobator 's pregnancy . Orobator 's mother said she found out about her daughter 's pregnancy in January . Jane Orobator told CNN she heard the news from the British Foreign Office , which has been monitoring the case . There is no British Embassy in Laos ; a British vice consul arrived in the country over the weekend , the British Foreign Office said . Jane Orobator said she can not believe her daughter was involved in drug trafficking , and she was surprised to learn she was in Laos . `` I do n't know '' what she was doing there , she said from her home in Dublin , Ireland . `` The last time she spoke with me , she said she was on holiday in London and she would come to see us in Dublin before returning to the UK in July . `` She is not the type of person who would be involved in drugs , '' she added . Reprieve is worried about her health , especially given her pregnancy , Morris said . `` She became pregnant in prison . We are concerned that it may not have been consensual , and we are concerned that someone who finds herself in prison at 20 is subject to exploitation , '' she said . `` I am the first British lawyer who has asked for access to her , '' Morris said . `` She needs to have a local lawyer appointed to her . We are pressing very hard for the local authorities to appoint one . '' She said it was normal in the Laotian justice system for a defendant to get a lawyer only days before a trial . The last execution in Laos was in 1990 , the foreign affairs spokesman said . Samantha Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London with her family when she was 8 , her mother said . CNN 's Kocha Olarn contributed to this report .
Judge Orobator was facing execution by firing squad for alleged human trafficking . Colombia 's laws prohibit courts from sentencing pregnant women to death . Official : Orobator was arrested on August 5 . She became pregnant while in prison , a group spokeswoman says .