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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 | Kurdish prisoner’s death penalty confirmed over Israel espionage charges

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Iran has sentenced to death 27-year-old Kurdish prisoner from Orumiyeh Shahin Vasaf on charges of espionage for Israel, a reliable source told Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). 

This is the first time a credible source confirms his death sentence, issued on 2 October 2023.

Shahin Vasaf, along with another Kurdish citizen Naser Vasaf, was detained by the intelligence forces in Orumiyeh on 21 September 2022.

They were taken to the city’s intelligence detention facility, where both endured physical and psychological torture for months to extract from them forced confessions to admit the charges of spying for Israel, the source said.

They were then taken to Orumiyeh Central Prison after interrogation had ended and their trial was held without the presence of a defence lawyer.

The Branch Three of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court of Oroumiyeh had handed down the death penalty, the source said.

Meanwhile, Naser Vasaf was released from prison in recent weeks after more than a year in detention.

Source: kurdistanhumanrights.org, Staff, February 21, 2024

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