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Condemned Veloso may give video testimony in trafficking trial
Family visit: Relatives of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina woman sentenced to death for drug smuggling in 2010, wait for approval to visit Veloso at Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta on Tuesday
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Family visit: Relatives of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina woman sentenced to death for drug smuggling in 2010, wait for approval to visit Veloso at Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. (thejakartapost.com/Bambang Muryanto) (thejakartapost.com/Bambang Muryanto)
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span class="inline inline-center">Family visit: Relatives of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina woman sentenced to death for drug smuggling in 2010, wait for approval to visit Veloso at Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta on Tuesday. (thejakartapost.com/Bambang Muryanto)
The lawyer of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina woman sentenced to death for smuggling heroin into Indonesia in 2010, is sounding out the possibility of Veloso giving video-link testimony in the trial of a suspect accused of tricking her into forced labor, an activist has said.
Laorence Castillo of Migrante International said the lawyer, Attorney Edre Olaila of the National Union of Public Lawyers (NUPL) in the Philippines, discussed the possibility during a recent visit to Wirogunan Penitentiary in Yogyakarta, where Veloso is currently detained.
Castillo said Olaila had come to Indonesia with Veloso's family.
'This is the first time that Veloso family's lawyer has met Mary Jane in person,' Castillo told journalists at Wirogunan on Tuesday, adding that after visiting Veloso, Olaila and a team of Indonesian lawyers were scheduled to meet with officials from the Sleman Prosecutor's Office to discuss how Veloso could give testimony in the Manila trial of Maria Christina Sergio, who is suspected of having recruited her as a migrant worker.
'Mary Jane's testimony is scheduled for February or March. The legal process in the Philippines is very slow,' said Castillo.
Three other alleged trafficking victims have also filed lawsuits against Sergio.
'I believe that Mary Jane is a trafficking victim. She is not guilty,' said Castillo.
Veloso's father, Cesar Veloso, his wife Celia Veloso and two of Mary Jane Veloso's sons, Mark Darren and Mark Daniel, made the trip to Indonesia. They brought gifts comprising three T-shirts and a pair of flip-flops for Veloso, who celebrated her 31st birthday on Sunday.
A number of staff members from the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta and the Philippine Foreign Affairs Ministry were present at the meeting between Veloso and her family, which took place at the Wirogunan penitentiary meeting hall.
Wirogunan prison warden Zaenal Arifin said Veloso's family had asked permission to continue visiting their condemned relative until Friday.
'Mary Jane remains on death row,' said Zaenal, adding that Veloso was in good condition.
'She plays volley ball routinely. She also regularly goes to church and learns the Yapong dance,' he said.
Veloso was arrested at Adi Sutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta for possessing 2.6 kilograms of heroin shortly after arriving aboard an AirAsia flight from Malaysia. The Sleman District Court sentenced Veloso to death in October 2010.
At the beginning of 2015, Veloso filed a second appeal for a case review, but the appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court. She was scheduled for execution together with seven other convicted drug traffickers on Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, on April 29 last year.
President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo delayed Veloso's execution after official requests from the Philippine government after Sergio, who claimed to have recruited Veloso, handed herself in to authorities in the Philippines. (ebf)(+)
