DFA Confirms ‘Moratorium’ on Veloso’s Execution
MANILA: The Indonesian government has reiterated its earlier statement that executions are not among its current priorities, DFA spokesperson Charles Jose has confirmed.
“Our embassy in Jakarta clarified that what the Indonesian government said was that executions are not a priority for now,” Jose was quoted as saying by Balita.
Jose reportedly said the Indonesian government’s statement on executions “was a general statement, without specific reference to Mary Jane Veloso’s case.”
“But of course that’s good news,” he added.
Veloso, who was convicted in Indonesia for drug smuggling but has always maintained her innocence and said human-traffickers duped her, was also due to be executed in April but was granted a last-minute temporary reprieve, the report said.
The reprieve was given following appeals from the Philippine government, which said Veloso’s testinomy is needed in the case of her alleged recruiters in Nueva Ecija in the Philippines, it added.
Jakarta had insisted that her sentence has only been postponed while legal proceedings run their course in the Philippines, reported Balita.
Veloso was arrested in April 2010 at the Yogyakarta Airport. She was then convicted for possessing 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her luggage, it added.