DFA confirms Veloso now on Indonesia execution island

Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose. AFP FILE PHOTO

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on Friday that Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino on death row in Indonesia, has been transferred to an island prison where her execution will take place.

“Indonesian government has ordered all prisoners up for execution with or without pending appeals to be transferred to the island including Mary Jane Veloso,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said.

READ: Indonesia moves Filipino maid facing death to island prison

Jose said the lawyers of Veloso and the Philippine Embassy were not “notified in advance” regarding her transfer.

On Thursday night, the kin of Veloso flew to Indonesia following her dire wish to see her loved ones before the execution.

The DFA, however, could not confirm yet wheter Veloso’s family had seen her before she was transferred to the execution island.

In a last-ditch effort, lawyers of Veloso were also working on the second appeal for the judicial  review of the case.

In the execution island Nusakambangan,  Veloso with other convicts are due to the firing squad. In Indonesian law, the deathrow capital convicts should be notified 72 hours before their deaths.

In 2010, Veloso was arrested in an Indonesian airport after authorities found packs of heroin weighing 2.6 kilograms hidden inside her suitcase. DPL