Updates:
In a press briefing, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Jose said that the government has filed a second appeal for judicial review of Mary Jane Veloso’s case.
He adds that the government still hopes that death sentence will be commuted. Should that fail to happen, Indonesian authorities will inform the Philippine government of Veloso’s execution three days before the scheduled date.
Earlier today (April 24), Jose said that Veloso’s lawyers and the Philippine Embassy were not notified in advance of her transfer to the prison island.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia (Reuters) — Indonesian authorities transferred Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipino woman on death row, to a prison island ahead of an execution on early Friday (April 24).
Mary Jane Veloso was arrested with 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Yogyakarta airport in 2010. Her plea for presidential clemency and judicial review were rejected earlier.
At midnight, police vehicles were seen driving into the heavily guarded Wirogunan prison in East Java, Indonesia.
Read: Veloso’s family asks for clemency
She was escorted to the prison island of Nusakambangan under heavy security.
A prison officer, who accompanied Veloso to the maximum security prison island, told a Reuters cameraman by phone that Veloso’s health was at good condition at the time of transfer.
Nine other people, mostly foreigners, who were convicted as drug traffickers have all been transferred to the prison island and will be facing execution by firing squad with Veloso.
The Veloso family is expected to visit her later in the day.
The Indonesian attorney general’s office has yet to announce a date for the executions.
Related: Binay pleads with Indonesian VP Jusuf Kalla, meets Veloso kin
More than half of the 10 prisoners facing the firing squad are foreigners, and the case has strained Jakarta’s relations with Australia, France, and Brazil.
The Supreme Court this week rejected the final appeals of a French and a Ghanaian prisoner according to media reports. Others in the group are from Australia, Brazil, the Philippines, and Nigeria.
Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay met his Indonesian counterpart Jusuf Kalla on the sidelines of a conference in Jakarta this week to appeal for mercy on behalf of Veloso.
French President Francois Hollande warned Indonesia on Wednesday the execution would damage ties between the two countries, according to media reports.
The Australian government has repeatedly pleaded for clemency for Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, but Indonesian President Joko Widodo has refused to budge.
Indonesia has harsh punishments for drug crimes and resumed executions in 2013 after a five-year gap. Six have been carried out so far this year.
