Reuters
The lawyer of a Filipina woman on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking says her execution could happen soon, as her family paid her a visit on Sunday (April 26).
This was the second visit to Nusakambangan island, a maximum high security prison in Indonesia, by Mary Jane Veloso’s family since she was sent to the island on Friday (April 24).
Veloso’s lawyer, Edre U Olalia, while waiting for the permit to cross by boat to the island, said she had been surprisingly upbeat during the family’s visit the previous day.
“We saw Mary Jane inside the prison, and it is a bit amazing because we saw her happy and calm. She even made jokes, which gives strength to her father, mother and siblings. She has gained some weight because she has nothing to do inside (the prison), but overall she is stable. She insists that she is innocent and still hopes she can be saved,” Olalia said to reporters
Indonesia has so far informed seven of the 10 death row inmates, including Veloso, two Australians and one Nigerian, that they will be executed in a matter of days, possibly as soon as Tuesday (April 28).
The Attorney General’s office said notices that they would face a firing squad after 72 hours were delivered to the seven on the prison island of Nusakambangan, despite last-minute appeals for clemency from the Australian government and others.
“So it basically means, there will not be any executions before 5 O’Clock (5 a.m. local time (2200GMT on April 27)) on April 28, but of course the possibility of the execution will happen after the 5 O’Clock deadline. But from our knowledge, the executions happen at 12 midnight (1700GMT) according to their practice,” Olalia said.
Nationals from Brazil, and Ghana are also on Indonesia’s death row. A temporary reprieve was granted to a French citizen who will not be in the next round of executions.
Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. Six executions have been carried out so far this year.
Reuters