DFA not giving up fight to save Filipina from Indonesia’s firing squad

 Video by Cathy Miranda/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday said the government would continue weighing options to save Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the death row in Indonesia.

“Our embassy in Jakarta will meet the lawyers of Mary Jane to consider all options. This includes the grounds for a second appeal,” Charles Jose, DFA spokesperson and assistant secretary, said in a press briefing on Monday.

Jose also said that the report of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police on their visit with Veloso in Indonesia last week could bolster the second appeal for a judicial review of her case.

Last week, Jose announced that the Philippine officials’ visit to Veloso was part of the efforts of the government to investigate drug syndicate operations to which Filipino nationals often fell victim.

It also followed the “humanitarian visit” of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to Veloso on March 24.

Veloso is among the 10 foreign nationals in Indonesia, including the Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, who are convicted of drug trafficking charges and have been condemned to die by firing squad.

She was arrested and imprisoned in 2010 for carrying 2.6 kilogram of heroin in her suitcase from Malaysia to the Yogyakarta Airport.

Indonesia’s Supreme Court recently rejected her appeal for a judicial review. SFM/AC

Originally posted as of 9:06 PM | April 6, 2015