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December 19, 2024 | 06:54 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Amnesty International Indonesia has welcomed the Indonesian government's decision to repatriate Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso, a Filipina woman who had been sentenced to death for drug-related offenses. However, the organization emphasizes that this repatriation should serve as a crucial step towards the abolition of the death penalty in Indonesia.
However, Amnesty believes that Indonesia needs to change its stance towards the imposition of a death penalty. Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid stated that the repatriation of Mary Jane should be a turning point towards the abolition of the death penalty.
“Although Indonesia has repatriated Veloso, we urge the government to follow global trends by establishing an official moratorium on all executions and commuting the sentences of all death row inmates," said Usman in an official statement received by Tempo, Thursday, December 19, 2024.
Usman explained that while repatriation is a positive step, Indonesia should go further by revoking Mary Jane's death row status. This move, he argued, not only reflects humanitarian values but also aligns Indonesia with the global trend towards abolishing the death penalty.
“We believe that the death penalty is a violation of fundamental human rights," Usman stressed, specifically citing the right to life and the right to be free from cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. He further emphasized that the use of the death penalty in drug cases contravenes international law and standards.
The repatriation of Mary Jane to the Philippines followed an agreement between the Indonesian and Philippine governments. Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra and Philippine Deputy Minister of Justice Raul T. Vasquez signed the agreement in Jakarta on Friday, December 6, 2024.
Mary Jane Veloso was repatriated to the Philippines in the early hours of Wednesday, December 18, 2024, departing from Terminal 2F of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Cebu Pacific Airlines flight 5J760 at 00:05 Jakarta time.
Mary Jane, a domestic worker, was arrested at Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta on April 25, 2010, for carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin in her suitcase. Despite maintaining her innocence and claiming she was tricked by a friend, Maria Christina Sergio, into transporting the drugs, Mary Jane was sentenced to death.
Mary Jane pursued various legal avenues to overturn her sentence, including a presidential pardon in 2015 and two Judicial Reviews. However, all her appeals were unsuccessful, and her death sentence remained in effect.
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