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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.

Indonesia: AGO Waits for Supreme Court Decision on Pardon for Death Penalty Execution

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The Indonesia Supreme Court (MA) has yet to issue a decision regarding the time limit for the submission of pardon for death row inmates convicted by the Attorney General Office (AGO) since August 2017.

"We are still waiting [for the Supreme Court decision], we must be careful on this, as this is a decision on life or death of a human being," said Attorney General HM Prasetyo in Jakarta, Friday (29/09/2017).

He asserted the death execution was related to the life of a person, and therefore the AGO needs to request for a decision from the Supreme Court , since the decision of the Constitutional Court about the pardon did not mention the time period for submission of pardon.

The Constitutional Court, through Decision No. 107/PUU-XIII/2015 abolished the enactment of Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law no. 5 of 2010 on Amendment to Law no. 22 of 2002 on Pardon related to the time limitation of submission of pardon to the president. That is, the Court "frees" the convicted person to apply for pardon at any time.

This ruling changed the preceding rules, the submission of pardon is done no later than a year since the decision of permanent legal force.

The petitioner of this case is Su'ud Rusli, a death row inmate of the murder of President Director of Asaba Budyharto Angsono. Su'ud regards Article 7 paragraph (2) of the Law on Gracency injured a sense of justice due to the submission of pardon more than a year since the final decision was considered expired.

The filing of Su'ud's pardon in 2014 was rejected by President Joko Widodo on 31 August 2015, which was received on October 8, 2015.

Previously, the Attorney General admitted concerned with the disclosure of drug smuggling cases in the country that increasingly rife.

"We are concerned about the disclosure of a ton of shabu in Banten and the hundreds of kilos in Pluit, proving it appears that Indonesia is the center of the drug network in Southeast Asia," said Attorney General HM Prasetyo after receiving a visit to the Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission of Malaysia (MACC) Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad last month.

He mentioned the drug case would undermine the generation of the Indonesian Nation. Therefore there is no compromise to such a crime. "It must be fought sincerely and seriously," he said, asserting.

Prasetyo added that the AGO would not hesitate to sue the perpetrators of drug trafficking. Let not a ton, no compromise of evil as it should be fought sincerely.

Source: netralnews.com, September 30, 2017


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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
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