Indonesia to look into Veloso’s case—Coloma
KUALA LUMPUR — Indonesian President Joko Widodo is “sympathetic” about the plight of a Filipina facing death for drug trafficking and has promised to look into her case, a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino said Monday after he made a personal appeal.
While the comments seemed to indicate a faint prospect of reprieve for Mary Jane Veloso, the Indonesian leader is seen as extremely unlikely to change course on the executions which he has insisted for months are essential to halting a national drugs crisis.
Veloso, a 30-year-old single mother of two boys, is due to face an Indonesian firing squad on Tuesday.
She is among eight foreigners facing execution in Indonesia, which has come under international pressure to spare them.
Aquino made his appeal in person on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) being held this year in Malaysia, his spokesman Herminio Coloma said.
“President Aquino talked with President Widodo earlier this morning and appealed for humanitarian consideration for Mary Jane Veloso, who was apparently duped into being an unwitting carrier of illegal drugs,” Coloma said in a text message.
“(Aquino) said President Widodo was sympathetic and was consulting with the Indonesian Attorney General on the legal issues.”
Coloma said Widodo promised to discuss the issue again later on Monday, when the summit that started in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in the morning shifts to the resort island of Langkawi.
Asked if there was hope Veloso could be spared, Coloma said: “So long as there is life, there is hope.”
Veloso was arrested in 2009 with 2.6 kilograms (5.7 pounds) of heroin sewn into the lining of her suitcase.
She insists she went to Indonesia for a job as a maid and was duped by an international drug syndicate.
The Philippines has sought to have a second judicial review of her case, citing evidence that she was a human trafficking victim, not a drug smuggler.
But this weekend, Veloso’s lawyer said she had been informed that she would be put to death on April 28.
Indonesia has some of the toughest anti-drugs laws in the world. In January, Jakarta executed six drug convicts, including five foreigners, sparking international outrage.
Veloso’s relatives have repeatedly asked Aquino for help. They explained that Veloso was a victim of an international drug syndicate.
Before he left Manila, Aquino had promised to discuss the issue with Widodo. With a report from Kristine Angeli Sabillo, INQUIRER.net
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