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Indonesia | 14 years on death row: Timeline of Mary Jane Veloso’s ordeal and fight for justice

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MANILA, Philippines — The case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking, has spanned over a decade and remains one of the most high-profile legal battles involving an overseas Filipino worker. Veloso was arrested on April 25, 2010, at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She was sentenced to death in October – just six months after her arrest. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld the penalty in May 2011.

Iran hangs rapist

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TEHRAN — Iran has hanged in prison a man convicted of raping several women in the central city of Isfahan, ISNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The man, only identified as Hossein M., was found guilty of raping several women after offering them a ride and then threatening to kill them, the report said, quoting Isfahan's judiciary.

It did not say when the hanging took place.

The latest hanging brings the number of executions in Iran to at least 145 so far this year, according to an AFP count based on media reports. At least 270 people were executed in 2009.

Iran is one of the leading countries that carry out the death penalty each year, along with China, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The Islamic republic says the death penalty is essential to maintain public security and is applied only after exhaustive judicial proceedings.

Murder, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, homosexuality and adultery are all punishable by death in Iran.

Source: AFP, November 27, 2010
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