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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: Bengkalis court sentences 2 drug traffickers to death

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The Bengkalis District Court in Riau sentenced 2 people to death on Wednesday after they were found guilty of violating the Narcotics Law by transporting 10 kilograms of powdered methamphetamine. 

According to court documents, the police arrested 38-year-old M. Hanafi of Batubara, North Sumatra, and Riko Fernando of Pekanbaru, Riau, after they were caught transporting pressed methamphetamine powder last December during a raid in Siak Kecil district, Bengkalis regency, Riau. 

Both Hanafi and Riko claimed that they were instructed by a Lampung Prison inmate to deliver the meth packages from Dumai, Riau, to Lampung for Rp 130 million (US$8,700). However, they had only received Rp 4 million as transport money. 

They said they had no idea where the packages of meth had come from as they were only ordered to pick up the packages from Dumai. 

The prosecutor from the Bengkalis District Attorney's Office demanded the defendants receive capital punishment as per the 2009 Narcotics Law. 

"They have worsened the drug trafficking problem in the country," presiding judge Sutarno said. 

Their lawyer, Farizal, said they were still considering whether to file an appeal for the sentence. 

In response, prosecutor Agrin Nico Reval said they would also consider the possibility of an appeal. 

"If the defendants decide to go forward with the appeal, we are ready to file one too," he said. 

Source: The Jakarta Post, September 29, 2018


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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
Location: Riau, Indonesia
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