The ministry’s citizen protection director, Judha Nugraha, said the Indonesian Embassy in Ethiopia had been providing consular support for Linda during her trial.

“We are also providing legal assistance to ensure that she fully receives her rights according to the local legal system,” he said in a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.

Linda, a resident of Majalengka regency in West Java, was arrested at Bole International Airport in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in June of last year for allegedly smuggling cocaine.

Her mother, Dede Sumiati, 66, said her daughter went to Ethiopia in June after receiving a job offer as a gold smelting worker. But she did not get the job after spending a week in the African country.

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Linda instead was asked to bring a bag of chocolate to Laos by an unidentified person she met at the hotel where she was staying. Unaware of what was actually in the bag, she went to the airport where authorities checked her bag before she boarded the flight and found a packet of drugs inside.

“Linda called us crying, saying that she did not know anything and felt that she was set up. I believe my daughter is innocent,” Dede said, as quoted by Antara. 

Majalengka regent Eman Suherman said on Wednesday that the regency administration also worked hard to ensure Linda had the proper legal assistance during the legal proceedings in Ethiopia.

According to the Foreign Ministry, at least 157 living Indonesian citizens have been sentenced to death abroad for various reasons, most in drug smuggling cases. (kuk/yve)