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Japan | Hakamada found religion, but then felt under attack by ‘the devil’

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Editor's note: This is the last in a four-part series on letters that Iwao Hakamada wrote while on death row. About a decade after cursing God, Iwao Hakamada was baptized Catholic at the Tokyo Detention House on Dec. 24, 1984. “Since I have been given the Christian name Paul, I am keenly feeling that I should be aware of the greatness of Paul.” (June 1985)

Philippines | President Marcos secures commitment from Indonesian President Widodo to review case of Filipina migrant Maria Veloso

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has secured a commitment from Indonesian President Joko Widodo to review the case of a Filipina migrant worker on death row for drug trafficking, a Palace official said on Thursday.

In a Viber message to Malacañang reporters, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil confirmed that Marcos discussed Veloso’s case during his meeting with his Indonesian counterpart.

When asked if Marcos urged Widodo to reconsider the death sentence, Garafil said: “Yes, with the decision of the Indonesian government to look into the case filed by Mary Jane Veloso in the Philippines.”

“The Indonesian government is waiting for the decision of the Philippine court on the case she filed,” Garafil added.

Last Wednesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippine government had sent legal interrogatories to Jakarta for Veloso to answer.

An interrogatory is a written question put to one party in a case by another party and which must be answered.

“It was established during President Widodo’s official visit that the legal interrogatories required from the Philippine Regional Trial Court have been sent to Jakarta for Ms. Veloso to answer,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro told Malacañang reporters in a Viber message.

Law enforcement officials arrested Veloso, a domestic helper from Nueva Ecija, in 2010 on suspicion of smuggling 2.6 kilograms of heroin worth more than P28 million into Indonesia.

She refuted the charges, claiming that her recruiter had deceived her into hiding the illegal drugs inside a specific suitcase’s seams.

Indonesia’s firing squad was scheduled to execute Veloso in April 2015 after facing death penalty in October 2010.

However, she was given a last-minute reprieve from execution for her to testify as a witness in the human trafficking case against her recruiter Kristina Sergio and Sergio’s partner Julius Lacanilao.

Source: tribune.net.ph  Tiziana Celine Piatos, January 11, 2024

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Location: Indonesia
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Missouri | Man Facing Execution Next Month Is Hospitalized With Heart Problem

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