(CNN Philippines) — Mary Jane Veloso has more than 24 hours left before her execution. But her lawyers believe there’s still hope.
“There are still a lot of things that can happen,” Edre Olalia, one of the lawyers from the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) handling Veloso’s case, said in an interview with CNN Philippines’ Headline News on Monday (April 27).
“It may be a short time — 72 hours or now [it’s less] but it’s a long time. It’s a long time for us. So it’s something that we should be capitalizing on.”
Asked about Mary Jane’s request to have her body brought back to the Philippines, Olalia said that there was a verbal assurance it would be granted. But he added that he was uncomfortable discussing that matter as the NUPL’s stance at the moment was that nothing had been made final yet.
Olalia cited the case of a French national, also on death row with Mary Jane, who was spared from execution due to a pending appeal.
Ten minutes before the office hours closed last Friday (April 24), NUPL lawyers filed a second judicial appeal at the Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
They said the appeal is stronger as it contained evidence backed by a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) report stating that Mary Jane was a human trafficking victim exploited by an international drug syndicate.
‘Woman of strength’
During the meeting with Mary Jane on Sunday (April 26), Olalia said he has never seen “such a woman of strength” given the circumstances.
“She’s very calm and composed, and is in fact quite cheerful despite what she’s undergoing right now,” he added.
In a statement released on Sunday, the NUPL also related that Mary Jane had an emotional encounter with her only brother during the family’s visit.
After that Mary Jane was her usual “bubbly self” and exuded a “well of inner peace and confidence.”
“She obviously was well-liked and admired by prison officials, guards and fellow inmates,” the statement added.
News of her impending execution last Saturday (April 25) was met with different reactions by family members who visited: Some broke down, some were just quiet, and some questioned the notice.
“However, after some time, they calmed down and they faced the reality of the possibility that their daughter, their sister, and their mother might be gone anytime after tomorrow,” Olalia said.
According to a Philippine Embassy representative who attended the meeting at Nusakambangan island, Mary Jane and her lawyer did not sign the notice of execution as there was still a pending second appeal.
Veloso’s camp then got a letter indicating that she had refused to sign the notice of execution. This was what she, her lawyer, and the embassy representative signed.
The reunion with her family lasted for six hours where banter and jokes was exchanged.
Well of support
NUPL confirmed that the death sentence by firing squad may be implemented at 5:00 p.m. at the earliest on Tuesday (April 28) unless a court order or clemency halts it.
This deadline prompted migrant rights group Migrante International to call for a vigil in front of the Indonesian Embassy to press for a halt in the execution. The vigil will last until Tuesday.
A Change.org petition was also launched seeking to accumulate 35,000 signatures asking Indonesian President Joko Widodo for clemency. As of posting time, the petition nears its target at 27,717 signatures.
Others also sent messages to the official Twitter account of Widodo asking him to spare Mary Jane’s life as she was a victim of human trafficking.
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Pres. Widodo @jokowi_do2, please stay execution of Mary Jane Veloso. She does not deserve to die for being coerced into drug trafficking!
— Gersande La Flèche (@gersandelf) April 26, 2015
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@jokowi_do2 The world is watching. Mary Jane is a victim of human trafficking, duped by her recruiter. Spare her life
— ️ ️f (@froilansam) April 27, 2015
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Killing Mary Jane Veloso solves nothing. It's senseless murder, and the world is watching. @jokowi_do2
— C (@ckjong) April 27, 2015
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Mary Jane. Mother of 2. Human trafficking victim herself before duped into drug trafficking. There is no justice in killing her @jokowi_do2
— Algely (@aljcomia) April 26, 2015
Dear @jokowi_do2 , if u wanna act like a tough guy all macho n shit, do it to Megawati or BG, don’t do it to helpless people like Mary Jane
— Yoko Santoso (@yokosantoso) April 26, 2015
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@jokowi_do2 Stop killing innocent people. Mary jane is a victim of human trafficking, you will not get justice in killing someone!
— elz brit (@elly_luvbritney) April 27, 2015
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This boy's future is in your hands, @jokowi_do2 Save her mother,
#MaryJane
#SaveMaryJaneVeloso #SaveMaryJane
pic.twitter.com/UgNcukI37b—
Carl Marc Ramota (@carlramota) April
26, 2015
Last Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Indonesia not to execute the 10 people on death row for drug crimes.
In a statement, the UN said that under international law, the death penalty, if it is going to be used at all, should only be imposed for most serious crimes that involve intentional killing.
Drug-related offenses do not fall under this category.
“I think the support and the clamor and the sympathy is intensified and widening,” Olalia said.
“[E]ven here in Indonesia, we got information that the appeal for the life of Mary Jane in particular has been gaining ground. Even celebrities have been asking their president to grant clemency.”
Last-ditch appeal
If President Benigno Aquino III makes a last-ditch appeal for Mary Jane’s clemency, it would be very welcome, Olalia said.
According to Olalia, Mary Jane’s father, Cesar, worked at Hacienda Luisita, a sugar plantation in Tarlac owned by the president’s family.
“It is incumbent on the president to really do everything in a firm, strong, determined and categorical manner that taking the life of an innocent Filipino mother coming from their poor family who left their poor country because of the economic and social conditions is something that is very important for all of us,” Olalia said.
He added that different tracks could be taken to stop the execution.
In theory, the lawyer explained that the judicial track could still intervene given that a second appeal had already been filed.
A political act, though, will take precedence now as the 72-hour notice presupposes that all legal remedies had already been exhausted.
“Until there is the 72-hour notice and until the last moment that the execution takes place anything and everything is still possible,” he said.
Aside from Mary Jane, nationals from Australia, France, Nigeria, and Brazil also face execution for drug offenses.
