Activists and supporters gathered outside the Indonesian Embassy in Manila on Tuesday (April 28) in a last-minute appeal for clemency for a Filipina facing execution.
Filipina migrant Mary Jane Veloso, a mother of two children, was arrested with 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Yogyakarta Airport in 2010.
Hundreds of supporters marched to the embassy gate, carrying placards and banners urging Indonesia to stop the executions.
“We’re very sad, we’re very outraged that the execution is supposed to push through despite the massive global appeal for President Widodo to stop the execution. But just the same, even at the 11th hour, we are still here, we are still calling for a stop to the execution. And we want Mary Jane and the world to know that she is not alone in this fight,” said Renato Reyes, a spokesperson of the activist group New Patriotic Alliance.
Supporters lit candles in front of the riot police blocking the embassy gate.
Joms Salvador, a spokesperson for the women’s rights group Gabriela, said protesters will not loose hope despite the imminent deadline for the execution.
“We’re still hoping that President Widodo of Indonesia will give clemency to Mary Jane Veloso and stop the scheduled execution, actually any moment from now,Mary Jane is pretty fair game for executioners in Indonesia, and up to the last minute we’re still hoping that Mary Jane could be saved,” she said.
Veloso, along with eight other drug convicts, including nationals of Australia,Indonesia, Nigeria and Brazil are set to face execution by firing squad on the prison island of Nusakamabangan at midnight.
Widodo has rejected all clemency pleas and pledged no forgiveness for the drug traffickers.
Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. Six people have been executed so far this year.
The executions, which will be the second round under Widodo, have drawn international criticism and sparked diplomatic tensions with Australia, France and Brazil, which have nationals on death row in Indonesia.
Reuters
