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fter 21 court hearings, the trial court of Pulau Penang in Malaysia on Monday sentenced to death Indonesian migrant worker Rita Krisdianti who was caught at a Malaysian airport carrying 4 kilograms of illicit drugs in 2013.

Rita, a native of Ponorogo, East Java, worked as a housemaid in Hong Kong from January to April in 2013. She was on her way home in July when she was apprehended by Malaysian airport authorities after they found 4 kilograms of methamphetamine in her bag.

Rita claims she was unaware the drugs were in her bag and that the bag belonged to another Indonesian housemaid who had arranged her journey from Hong Kong to Penang through Bangkok and New Delhi.

In response to the verdict, the Foreign Ministry, which has assisted Rita throughout the court hearings, said Rita’s case was not over and it had ordered a team of lawyers to file an appeal.

“Throughout this process we have supplied Rita with legal assistance, including appointing a team of lawyers for her,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said in Jakarta on Monday.

The ministry has also helped Rita’s family, as well as members of several civil society organizations in Indonesia, attend the court hearings.

“We have coordinated with the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong and the Ponorogo administration to obtain more information to lighten her sentence,” Arrmanatha said.

The Indonesian Consulate General in Penang, meanwhile, has paid for the Goi & Azzura law firm to assist Rita since her detention began.

Ministry data shows that 154 other Indonesian workers are facing the death penalty in Malaysia. From that number, 102 of them, or 66 percent, are implicated in drug cases.

In an effort to help its citizens, the ministry has been coordinating with the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) to assist the Indonesian workers in their court proceedings, especially those who, according to the agency’s intelligence, were victims of a larger network of drug traffickers.

The move may seem ironic to some as Indonesia itself is preparing to execute at least 15 drug convicts in the near future, most of whom are foreign nationals. It will be the third round of executions under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, coming after 14 drug convicts were sent to their deaths amid international outcry. Jokowi’s policy has been criticized as there are many Indonesians on death row in foreign countries and no guarantee the government can help them escape their fate.

When asked recently about whether Indonesia’s use of the death penalty would affect negotiations to help Indonesians sentenced to death abroad, Arrmanatha said Indonesia did not seek to interfere with the law in other countries and thus opted to pursue its goals through legal avenues — such as by submitting appeals — to protects its citizens.

Regarding Rita’s case, the Indonesian consul general in Penang, Taufiq Rodhi, said, “We fully respect the verdict given to Rita. However, we have ordered the lawyers to file an appeal.”

“Because this is still the trial court, there is still a chance for us to appeal Rita’s verdict. Through the Foreign Ministry, we will continue to coordinate with all relevant parties that can provide us with mitigating evidence,” he added.