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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 | Second Woman Found to Have Been Executed in January

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Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); February 16, 2024: Hajar Atabaki, a woman on death row for drug-related charges, was executed in silence in Qazvin Central Prison in January.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a woman was executed in Qazvin Central Prison on 20 January. Her identity has been established as 41-year-old Hajar Atabaki from Tabriz.

Informed sources told IHRNGO that Hajar was a mother of one who had separated from her husband in 2018. She was arrested for drug-related charges around two and a half years ago and sentenced to death by the Revolutionary court.

At the time of writing, her execution has not been reported by domestic media or officials in Iran.

Drug-related executions have continuously risen every year for the past three years. 

At least 305 people were executed for drug-related charges between 1 January-10 October 2023, a 69% increase compared to the same period in 2022, and the number of drug-related executions in 2023 were close to 20 times higher than 2020.

Iran is the biggest executioner of women. In 2023, at least 22 women were executed for drug-related, murder and security-related charges in Iran. 

Hajar is the second woman to be executed in January 2024.

Source: iranhr.net, Staff, February 16, 2024

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Location: Qazvin, Qazvin Province, Iran
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