DFA: Indonesia Supreme Court to decide fate of convicted Pinay drug courier

Indonesia’s Supreme Court will seal the fate of convicted Filipina drug smuggler Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, whose death sentence was appealed by the Philippine government.
 
The District Court of Yogyakarta transmitted Veloso’s files to the Indonesian high court on Wednesday after it found “merit” on Manila’s request for a judicial review.
 
“We are awaiting the schedule of review by the Supreme Court. There will be no execution until the review is completed and as long as the case is being heard,” Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said Thursday as he denied reports that Veloso was among the group of foreign prisoners transferred to the execution site at the maximum detention facility in Nusakambangan Island last Tuesday.
 
“She was in Yogyakarta during the district court review,” Jose said.
 
Manila has sought a review on Veloso’s case in January – the last legal resort for those with death sentences in Indonesia – in a bid to commute her sentence to life imprisonment.
 
Jose said the DFA is not aware how long the Indonesian high court review will last, while the Philippine Embassy is clarifying if Veloso will be brought to Jakarta during the review.
 
Veloso, a 30-year-old single mother, was arrested at the Yogyakarta Airport on April 25, 2010 for possession of 2.6 kilograms of heroin.
 
Jose said Veloso, who flew to Yogyakarta from Malaysia, was asked by a “friend” to bring suitcases loaded with heroin to Indonesia. Veloso told the court she was not aware that the luggage contained illegal drugs.
 
The Philippines, Jose said, presented two new witnesses and questioned the appointment of a student translator for Veloso during her trial at the lower court.
 
“We are questioning the accuracy of translation,” Jose said. “If you are appointed as court translator you should be qualified.”
 
Smuggling of large quantities of prohibited drugs is punishable by death in countries like Indonesia and China.
 
Since 2011, five Filipino drug couriers were put to death in China through lethal injection, but many Philippine nationals, unfazed by the executions, continue to get involved in drug trafficking abroad.
 
More than 800 Filipinos are detained various countries for drug-related offenses, according to 2014 DFA data.  — RSJ, GMA News

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