Philippines, Indonesia ink repatriation deal for Veloso

Yusril Ihza Mahendra (left), Indonesia’s coordinating minister for law, human rights, immigration and corrections, and Department of Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez exchange signed documents on the repatriation of death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso, in Indonesia yesterday.
AFP

MANILA, Philippines — Indonesia and the Philippines signed an agreement yesterday to send Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row for drug charges in Indonesia since 2015, back to her home country.

The announcement came following the Philippines’ Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez meeting with Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra in Jakarta, where both ministers signed the agreement.

Following the signing, Indonesian authorities will discuss further details with the Philippines’ embassy in Jakarta on Veloso’s transfer, which is expected to occur before Dec. 25, Yusril said.

“We agree to return the person concerned to the Philippines and furthermore the obligation to provide guidance to prisoner Mary Jane Veloso becomes the responsibility of the Philippine government,” Yusril said Friday.

He added that they are hoping the transfer “will be carried out before Christmas, Dec. 25.”

Yusril said the Indonesian government would respect any decision made by the Philippine government regarding her case.

Vasquez explained that the Indonesian government has not set any conditions for Veloso’s detention after the transfer.

He also noted that the Philippine government will respect the sentence imposed by the Indonesian court and it will be President Marcos’ decision whether to give her clemency or not.

“Once transferred in the country she will serve her sentence as agreed upon in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations with respect to the penal code,” he said.

Veloso was arrested in Indonesia in 2010 carrying a suitcase lined with 2.6 kilograms of heroin and later sentenced to death.

She was due to face the firing squad in 2015, but the Philippine government won a last-minute reprieve for her after a woman suspected of recruiting her was arrested and put on trial for human trafficking in which Veloso was named as a prosecution witness.

The mother-of-two’s case sparked an uproar in the Philippines, with her family and supporters saying she was innocent and had been set up by an international drug syndicate.

Indonesia has some of the world’s toughest drug laws, including the death penalty for traffickers.

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