The New Life of Daniel Sancho Among Mats and Crowded Cells

The long days of yoga and muay thai, a Thai sports discipline, seem to be coming to an end. Although a prison is not a resort, Daniel Sancho, in this past year, has not lived the reality of prisons in the Asian country, according to sources.

After being imprisoned in August 2023 for the alleged murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, the young Spaniard spends his days in the facilities of Koh Samui, a "friendly center" but still far from the luxurious and ostentatious life that Sancho flaunted on social media before the crime.

The sailboats, Michelin-starred restaurants, and parties immortalized on his now-private Instagram have been replaced by tiny cells and shared facilities with more than 500 inmates. In recent months, Sancho has spent his time between the infirmary module, the gym, and the library. "The atmosphere is good; we are treated well and there is no violence or drugs," said the Spaniard in an interview with Agencia EFE days before learning his sentence. Now he has to pack his bags. "Koh Samui prison is for inmates serving sentences of up to 15 years," noted Beatriz Uriarte, lawyer from the firm representing the Arrieta family in Spain.

The destination for now is Surat Thani, about 120 kilometers from Koh Samui. There he will face cells that "are communes of about 20 to 24 inmates (...). 16 or 17 hours without food, only water, sleeping on the floor with three blankets." These are the words of another Spaniard sentenced to life imprisonment after receiving a pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Artur Segarra. This Catalan, imprisoned for killing another Spaniard in Thailand, has been an inmate since 2017 at the 'Bangkok Hilton' or 'Big Tiger,' nicknames for the feared Bang Kwang prison.

"This is the third world. Now they have put cameras in, but I still go around with a shiv in my pocket," according to Segarra in a letter addressed to Ana Rosa Quintana's television program. There, cell doors open at 6:50 am for a shower and ten minutes later it's breakfast time. At 1 pm comes the only meal of the day and "at 3:45 pm locked up again and sleeping on the floor with three blankets," recounts the Catalan. This is daily life at Bangkok Hilton.

Sancho has avoided this 'resort' for now. But the quality of his new home, at least for the next year—the time expected for his lawyers' appeals to be resolved—is similar. During this time, the aspiring chef will be a "preventive inmate." "These are those who have a first-instance sentence with appeals pending resolution," revealed his legal team last Thursday.

Although it lacks the fame of 'Big Tiger,' Surat Thani also stands out for its dangerous inmates. In fact, some are awaiting execution of their death sentences. In this new prison, Sancho will coexist with more than 5,400 inmates—ten times more than he had as companions in Koh Samui—far exceeding its capacity.

Gone will be the Koh Samui cell in the infirmary module that he occupied for several days and months. A space that was small but not shared with many inmates. Now he will have to share a cell with more than twenty fellow inmates imprisoned for arms and drug trafficking or other crimes like Sancho's "very serious" ones. Additionally, they only accept visits from blood relatives.

This will be Daniel Sancho's home for at least the next twelve months. And when the sentence becomes final? Thai authorities may consider transferring him to another prison or keeping him there. Arrieta's defense requested a transfer to Bang Kwang.

One way or another, he will have to adapt. If neither Thailand's Court of Appeals nor its Supreme Court change the ruling of Samui Provincial Court's judge, Sancho will have to spend his entire life behind bars. That’s what the sentence says although "we are working with all international cooperation treaties with Thailand," explained the family's lawyers.

Even so, Thai regulations require him to serve one-third of his sentence on Thai soil before being handed over to Spanish justice. In his case, that would be around eight years without counting the legal period both Spanish and Thai administrations have to approve the process. In Artur Segarra's case, Spain's government has yet to respond to his request to be transferred to a national prison. "There is no established deadline and it could take a long time," legal sources explain.