Indonesia and the Philippines have signed an agreement on the repatriation of a Filipina who has spent the past 14 years on death row for drug trafficking, paving the way for her return home before the end of the year.
According to a report by Reuters, the agreement was signed by Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s senior minister for law and human rights affairs, and Philippines Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez in Jakarta on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after the signing of the agreement, Yusril said that Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had requested that the case of Mary Jane Veloso be resolved by Christmas.
“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 told reporters, as per the Philippine Star. He added that they are hoping the transfer “will be carried out before Christmas.”
Veloso, a domestic worker and mother of two, was arrested in Yogyakarta in 2010 for trying to bring 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. She was subsequently sentenced to death under Indonesia’s severe drug laws, but received a last minute reprieve from execution in 2015 after Philippine officials asked Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to let her testify against members of a prominent drug trafficking organization.
Last month, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that Indonesia had agreed to repatriate the 39-year-old after years of requests from the Philippines, where Veloso’s relatives and supporters have waged a persistent campaign for her release. Veloso has always maintained her innocence, claiming that she was tricked by her godsister into carrying a suitcase full of heroin into Indonesia.
Under the agreement signed on Friday, Yusril said the Philippines had agreed to respect the Indonesian court’s sentencing of Veloso and her status as prisoner in Indonesia.
Vasquez expressed “heartfelt gratitude” for the Indonesian government and likewise said that “we do understand and we respect the decision of the Indonesian courts with respect to the sentence that was meted on our citizen Mary Jane Veloso.” He added, “Once transferred to the country, she will serve her sentence in accordance, as agreed upon, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations with respect to the Penal Code.”
However, Yusril also said that the Indonesian government would respect any decision made by the Philippines once Veloso is back on Philippine soil, including the granting of clemency, which Philippine officials have raised as a possibility. It seems likely that Veloso will eventually be released, but that Manila will do so only after a respectful amount of time has elapsed, and without casting public judgment on the legitimacy of the Indonesian court ruling.
Yusril also said that the agreement was “reciprocal” and that the Philippines has pledged to consider any future requests for the return of Indonesian nationals.
Prabowo’s newly-inaugurated administration has also agreed in principle to send back to Australia the five remaining members of the so-called “Bali Nine” drug smuggling ring, who are currently serving life sentences for trafficking. Talks for their repatriation are ongoing. The two cases suggest that Prabowo intends to take a more flexible approach to foreigners serving long, drug-related sentences in Indonesian prisons.
In other repatriation-related news, Myanmar’s military council on Friday agreed to release four Thai fishermen who have been in its custody for nearly a week, after the Myanmar Navy detained them for what the junta said was an intrusion into its waters in the Andaman Sea. The four men were part of a crew of 31 that were taken into custody after their boat was allegedly caught fishing inside Myanmar waters, during which the Myanmar Navy fired at the fishing boats.
According to the Thai Foreign Ministry, the four fishermen were released in the southern Myanmar town of Kawthoung and “were due to cross over a border inlet there to Thailand’s Ranong town,” BenarNews reported. The fate of the remaining 27 Burmese crew members is unclear.