British man sentenced to 10 months in Bali for drug offenses after death penalty charge dropped

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — A court on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali sentenced a British man to 10 months in jail on Tuesday for drug offenses after a charge that could carry the death penalty was dropped.

Thomas Parker, from Cumbria in northwest England, was arrested Jan. 21 at a villa near Kuta beach, a popular tourist spot, after he allegedly collected a package containing drugs from a motorcycle taxi driver on a nearby street.

Police officers said Parker was “acting suspiciously” while he collected the package, according to the court document. He allegedly discarded it in a panic and fled when police approached him. He was traced back to the villa where he was staying and arrested.

A lab test confirmed the package contained slightly over a kilogram (2.326 pounds) of MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy, the document said.

During the police investigation, the 32-year-old electrician was able to prove that he did not order the package. It was sent by a drug dealer friend, identified only as Nicky, whom Parker had known for around two years and spoke to regularly through the Telegram messaging app.

Parker was told someone would pick it up shortly from him, and he was not promised money or anything else by Nicky in return.

Police reduced the initial charge of drug trafficking, which carries a possible death sentence, to the less serious offense of hiding information from authorities after investigators determined that the package was not directly linked to him.

During the trial, which began last month at the Denpasar District Court, Parker told the court he initially refused to collect the package but agreed to do it after Nicky assured him the package was safe and would not put him in danger.

Prosecutors on May 6 sought a one-year prison term for Parker, but the judges said they reduced the penalty because Parker regretted his acts, had not been previously convicted and promised to reform.

Parker sat silently as a panel of three judges at Denpasar District Court handed down the punishment. The judges also ordered the time he has already served since he was arrested to be deducted from his sentence, meaning he will be free in several months.

After the judges read the sentence, Parker said that he accepted the verdict and will not appeal. Prosecutors must decide whether to accept it within a week.

“I really, really regret everything that has happened,” Parker said. “I am sorry and will follow the judge's decision.”

Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad.

About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, Ministry of Immigration and Corrections’ data showed. Indonesia’s last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.

Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

British citizen Thomas Parker, left, walks to a holding cell after he is sentenced for drug offenses, in Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

British citizen Thomas Parker sits on the defendant's chair before sentenced for drug offenses, at a district court in Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

British citizen Thomas Parker walks towards a district court before he is sentenced for drug offenses, in Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

British citizen Thomas Parker sits on the defendant's chair before being sentenced for drug offenses, in Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

British citizen Thomas Parker, sentenced later for drug offenses, sits on the defendant's chair before the start of his verdict trial at a district court in Denpasar in Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)