Mary Jane Veloso is a Filipina who was convicted of drug trafficking in Indonesia. The 30-year-old mother has been sentenced to die by a firing squad on Tuesday, April 28th, for being deemed a drug mule.
Lawyer Minnie Lopez of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) tells the Manila Bulletin that Mary Jane Veloso has been informed by the Indonesian government that she is will die on Tuesday. Veloso is one of 10 people who will face the firing squad.
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesperson Charles Jose said the Philippine Embassy in Indonesia has yet to receive a notice for Veloso’s execution.
“I just spoke to our ambassador to Indonesia and she confirmed that the Embassy has not received the 72-hour notice,” Jose told GMA News Online via text message.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario has previously said that Mary Jane Veloso cannot be executed until the Philippines receives an official notification of her execution date from Indonesia. Protocol mandates that the notice must be given to the convicted person, as well as to their respective embassies, in advance.
Mary Jane Veloso’s family received a copy of the order when they visited her in prison, on the island of Nusakambangan, on Saturday. The order did not specify the date of her execution, however.
On Friday, the Philippines filed its second appeal requesting judicial review of the Mary Jane Veloso case.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino may have the opportunity to discuss the Mary Jane Veloso case with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo on Sunday, during an Association of Southeast Nations meeting in Malaysia.
The Internet is begging Indonesia to spare the life of Filipina #MaryJane Veloso http://t.co/1gZFsPONFr
— TIME.com (@TIME) April 24, 2015
It was back in 2010 that Mary Jane Veloso was arrested at the Yogyakarta Airport, when authorities there found 2.6 kilograms of heroin sewn into her suitcase. She has been jailed since that time, and maintains to this day she had no idea the drugs were in her luggage.
WATCH: What did Celia Veloso say after visiting her daughter Mary Jane? http://t.co/7V2gxJuLxd pic.twitter.com/9B95mHY4mc
— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) April 25, 2015
Hopefully President Benigno can intervene on Mary Jane Veloso’s behalf. Otherwise the young mother’s fate appears bleak.
Do you think Indonesia will execute Mary Jane Veloso?