Mary Jane Veloso has been languishing in Indonesian legal limbo ever since her execution for drug trafficking charges was postponed at the very last moment last April. But she will no doubt be cheered by the arrival of her family, who arrived in Jakarta today from the Philippines to celebrate Veloso’s 31st birthday.
According to Inquirer.Net, Veloso’s parents Cesar and Celia and her two sons Mark Darren and Mark Daniel as well as lawyer Edre Olalia and Migrante Rights and Welfare Program Coordinator Laorence Castillo will visit the Filipina drug convict in prison. They arrived in Jakarta today and are expected to visit Veloso from January 12 to 14 in her Yogyakarta prison.
Veloso, a mother of two, is widely suspected of being the victim of human traffickers who tricked her into smuggling drugs into Indonesia under the pretense of getting her work as a domestic helper. Veloso’s was given a stay of execution mere moments before she was set to be killed by a firing squad after Kristina “Tintin” Sergio, the woman suspected of recruiting her and tricking her into carrying drugs to Indonesia, turned herself in to authorities in the Philippines.
Sergio’s case has still not been resolved by the Filipino judicial system, but if she is indeed found guilty of human trafficking it may be cause for Indonesian authorities to lift the death sentence on Veloso.
But until then, Mary Jane’s life hangs in the balance. The Indonesian government has recently stated that it had no immediate plans to go through with any more executions as it was “prioritizing” economic development instead. But recently the country’s attorney general has denied that this constituted a moratorium and that the executions would eventually take place.
“Mary Jane’s birthday is reason to celebrate because it symbolizes a new chapter of her life after her temporary reprieve. But it is also reason for continued vigilance and renewed vigor to save her life. We wish for her justice and freedom. We wish for the reprieve to be permanent. All efforts now must be towards ensuring that the legal cases against her traffickers here in the Philippines are done without delay. It will be almost a year since her temporary reprieve and justice is yet to be served,” said Connie Bragas-Regalado, a representative of the Filipino Migrante party, as quoted by Inquirer.net.
