Indonesia to repatriate Philippine death row convict Mary Jane Veloso this week
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Mary Jane Veloso will be transferred to her home country in the early hours of Dec 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
JAKARTA – Indonesia will transfer Mary Jane Veloso, a Philippine woman sentenced to death in 2010 for drug trafficking, to her home country in the early hours of Dec 18, a senior Indonesian official said.
Indonesia in November agreed to repatriate Veloso, a mother of two and a former domestic helper, who was arrested in Yogyakarta 14 years ago after being found with 2.6kg of heroin concealed in a suitcase.
Veloso’s case caused a domestic outcry in the Philippines. She received a last-minute reprieve from execution in 2015 after then Philippine President Benigno Aquino appealed to the Indonesian government, arguing that Veloso could be a vital witness in prosecuting drug syndicates.
World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao had also campaigned for her to be spared the death penalty.
Veloso will be flown from a women’s prison in the capital of Jakarta – where she had been moved from a Yogyakarta jail – to the Philippines, deputy minister of Indonesia’s Ministry for Law and Human Rights Affairs, Mr I Nyoman Gede Surya Mataram, told a press conference on Dec 16.
She will serve the remainder of her sentence in the Philippines.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the repatriation.
Indonesia repatriated the five remaining members of the Bali Nine Australian drug ring at the weekend to serve their sentences in their home country, at the request of Canberra.
Jakarta did not announce the timing of the Bali Nine transfer, but Mr Surya denied any difference in treatment, saying Australia had requested that the timing not be publicly disclosed.
Indonesian officials have previously said they were also considering France’s request for the repatriation of death row prisoner Serge Atlaoui, who was convicted of drug offences.
Britain, Saudi Arabia and Iran plan to make similar prisoner transfer requests, Indonesian government official Ahmad Kaffah said.
“It must be underlined that the transfers of prisoners are done with the principle of reciprocity, so that in time, we expect the same treatment from those countries.” REUTERS
