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Families, lawyers of death row inmates beg for mercy
Self-portrait: A member of the legal team for Australian drug convict and death row inmate Myuran Sukumaran carries a self-portrait painting made by Sukumaran entitled The second last day, signed and dated at the back âBesi Prison, Nusakambangan, 27/4/15â at Wijaya Pura Dock after visiting the prison island on Monday
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span class="inline inline-center">Self-portrait: A member of the legal team for Australian drug convict and death row inmate Myuran Sukumaran carries a self-portrait painting made by Sukumaran entitled The second last day, signed and dated at the back 'Besi Prison, Nusakambangan, 27/4/15' at Wijaya Pura Dock after visiting the prison island on Monday. AFP/Romeo Gacad
Family members of the nine death row inmates convicted on drug trafficking charges were seen devastated as they visited their loved ones on the Nusakambangan prison island near Cilacap, Central Java, on Monday.
Among them were Cecilia and Marites Veloso, the mother and sister of Filipino death row inmate Mary Jane Veloso.
'I am poor. I have nothing. My daughter went to Indonesia to work. She is a good person. Why should she be killed?' Veloso's mother said, as she burst into tears, at Wijaya Pura Dock after her visit.
Veloso's sister, with both hands on her chest, begged the Indonesian government to spare her sister's life.
'My sister is stupid. She was fooled by irresponsible people. So, please, help my sister. Don't execute her,' she said in a trembling voice, in tears.
Similar pleas were made by family members of Bali Nine members Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of Australia.
'We once again apologize for the wrongdoings that my brother committed in Indonesia. Please, do not execute him,' said Chintu Sukumaran.
Indonesian death row inmate Zainal Abidin's younger brother, Iwan Setiawan, was not so lucky when trying to visit Zainal with the inmate's lawyer, Ade Yuliawan.
The prison did not grant them permission to visit Zainal, arguing that they did not bring a permission letter from the prosecutor's office.
'I have not seen my brother for a long time. I came here because I was told by Pak Ade that he was going to be executed,' Iwan told reporters, Monday, trying to hold in tears.
Ade said that his side had yet to receive a letter regarding the Supreme Court's decision on his client's judicial review, explaining why he thought Zainal's execution should be canceled.
'To whom should we complain if [the government] treats its own citizen like this?' Ade said.
The other death row inmates slated to face the firing squad on the prison island are Nigerian Raheem Agbaje Salami, Brazilian Rodrigo Gularte, Nigerian Sylvester Obiekwe Nwolise alias Mustofa, Ghanaian Martin Anderson alias Belo and Nigerian Okwudili Oyatanze.
Agbaje's lawyer, Utomo Karim, said that he had received confirmation that the executions would be conducted on Tuesday.
'The death row inmates have been informed as well,' Utomo said.
Wijaya Pura Dock was under tight security on Monday, with hundreds of armed police and military personnel standing guard. Journalists access has also been further restricted.
Meanwhile, the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta rejected the second judicial review submitted by Mary Jane Veloso on Monday, according to court spokesperson Marliyus.
Marliyus said Veloso's lawyer, Agus Salim, had filed the second judicial review with the court. After deliberations, however, head of the court Rochmad, rejected the request.
'The decision was based on Supreme Court Circular No 7/2014 on the filing process of a judicial review in a criminal case. It is limited to only once,' Marliyus said.
Agus said that in the second judicial review, Veloso, through her lawyer, submitted new evidence based on the result of an investigation conducted by the Philippine National Narcotics Agency.
'The investigation found that Mary Jane was not an agent in the international illicit drug trade. Indonesia's National Narcotics Agency [BNN] has also confirmed this,' Agus said.
He said that Veloso was not aware that she was carrying 2.6 kilograms of heroin when she was traveling from Malaysia to Yogyakarta in April 2010.
'It doesn't seem that the new evidence was taken into consideration,' said Agus, adding that with the review rejection, Veloso would have to face the firing squad.
