Indonesia excludes Philippine drug convict Mary Jane Veloso from execution list

Joko Widodo gave a last-minute reprieve to Mary Jane last year with just hours left for her scheduled execution.

Indonesian Attorney General HM Prasetyo confirmed on Tuesday that Philippine drug convict Mary Jane Veloso has been excluded from the list of prisoners to be executied imminenetly.

"She is still waiting for the finalization of the legal process in the Philippines. When she was due to be executed previously, a woman surrendered [to the Philippines authorities] and claimed that Mary Jane had been a victim of human trafficking," Prasetyo said, according to the Jakarta Globe.

Indonesian president Joko Widodo had given a last-minute reprieve to Mary Jane in April last year when he delayed her killing just hours before she was due to be executed.

He also said that the list was prepared at the Attorney General's office in co-ordination with the National Police.

Prasetyo denied all rumours about the execution to be carried out next month. He said: "We only have to set the execution date. That is what we are still unable to decide at this moment. As for the executions, we have never said that we would stop them, because the war on drugs will never stop."

The attorney general said the government wants to avoid protests against the executions. "However, the execution should be done, as it relates to the sustainability of the nation. If it is already inckracht (a full legal verdict) we will proceed with the executions, in cooperation with the National Police," he added.

The name of another drug convict, Freddy Budiman, was not there in the list as well. In 2012, he was found guilty of smuggling 1.4 million ecstasy pills from China to Indonesia. When asked about this case, the attorney general said that his case was undergoing review.

Amid the outrage from different human activists group worldwide and governments, Indonesia had executed 14 drug convicts last year, including the so-called Bali Nine drug smugglers.

Among the eight convicts shot dead on the same day were Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

READ MORE